Dorset school nursing service
The Dorset HealthCare’s school nursing service is a dedicated hub supporting the health and wellbeing of school‑age children across Dorset.
School nursing teams work closely with children, families, schools and other agencies to promote healthy lifestyles, provide practical advice, and ensure that every school has a named school nurse who regularly engages with staff and pupils.
Support available
The service plays a vital public health role, offering guidance on physical health, emotional wellbeing, and safeguarding. School nurses collaborate with a wide network of professionals, including community paediatricians, health visitors, GPs and speech and language therapists, ensuring children and young people receive coordinated and timely support.
They are committed to safeguarding all children and follow the pan‑Dorset Safeguarding Children Partnership guidance.
The page provides clear information about the full range of support available through school nursing, including:
- health screening and assessments for school age children
- healthy eating, weight management and physical activity advice
- emotional health and wellbeing support
- bed‑wetting (enuresis) clinics
- 1:1 appointment with young people
- referrals and signposting to other services as needed
- ChatHealth - a confidential text service for young people
- ParentLine (5-19) - a text messaging service offering advice for parents
- National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) growth measurements in Reception and Year 6
- safeguarding and child protection support
Resources for parents and young people
The Dorset Healthcare website also provides additional resources for parents and young people, including guidance on when to seek medical help, and information on how to request school nursing support for individual pupils or groups:
Make a request for school nursing support
You can use the Dorset Healthcare website to: