I was a Practice Nurse for four years before applying for the School Nursing Development Role and going on to join the SCPHN course after a year.

Getting to know the reality of school nursing before you commit to SCPHN and the role means you get real life experiences, examples and case studies for the training. The additional experiences help you to settle into your post qualification role. Being in school is the best form of learning.

The school I was in was well suited to a Development Role; it did not have too many high need cases, but I did get to experience the full range of things covered on the SCPHN course. The SCPHN course gives you lots of theory and joining as a Development Role student was a real benefit as I had practical real-life examples to pin to the theory of the course. It also prepares you for the practice placements on the course. The next school I went to exposed me to a lot of different, more challenging issues which I was then equipped to deal with.

I learned how very different each school is. Different schools have different needs, and you need different skill sets and flexibility. You are placed carefully so you get enough experience without being overwhelmed. My Development Role prepared me for the course and allowed me to ‘dip my toe’ into school nursing in a really supportive environment. Support includes regular meetings for Development Nurses and SCPHN students run by CPTs to discuss your feelings or clinical challenges as well as support from the School Nursing Team.

If you are independent and confident in your competence level, it is a great role. It can be a little lonely not being school staff in a school, but you can rely upon the supportiveness of the school nurse team. It can be daunting facing challenges alone; this depends on the challenges seen within the school. Area managers, the School Nurse team and Clinical Practice Teachers are extremely supportive and always available. You need to be brave and ask for help when you need it and allow yourself time to think, reflect and learn.

If trusts are able to offer Development Roles, it is really valuable. I saw people struggle on the course without that grounding knowledge. The theoretical nature of the course can be overwhelming without live experience.

I have now completed the SCPHN course, V100 prescribing qualification and am a fully qualified school nurse. When I graduated, I was automatically assigned a full school nurse role and will be in the post for at least two years at Band 6.

My future is in School Nursing because I love it and I have a brilliant team.