What do school nurses do? School nurses work to prevent illness and promote health across the lifespan by identifying barriers to healthy lifestyles and general wellness.

Supporting young people:

School nurses provide a point of contact for young people to discuss any emotional, psychosocial and ongoing physical health concerns they have.

■We see young people up to the end of high school and are trained in assessing adolescent health needs.

■We can provide brief interventions; assist with access and referral to other services and provide follow-up care.

Students can drop into the school health centre or make appointments to discuss health and wellbeing issues with the nurse. Students can independently seek assistance from the nurse, or can be referred by parents, teachers or student services teams.

Supporting families:

Nurses recognise that schools manage most health needs for their students. Nurses can assist, if required, in supporting families and school staff with health care planning and management for children with complex health needs and/or chronic conditions.

Nurses are aware of and, have connections with extended services in the community. They can be a contact point and advocate for families, providing them with health information and referrals, and information about parenting programs as needed.

More information: School Health Nurses in secondary schools