School nurses' safeguarding role hindered by paperwork, survey finds

The report said schools nurses spend twice as much time on paperwork than on direct work with children, severely restricting their ability to identify and support vulnerable children.

A survey of nearly 800 school nurses across 775 settings in England found that 42 per cent spend at least half their day on administration, while 13 per cent reported spending most of their day on it.

Half of respondents to the children's commissioner's survey also said they had limited time or capacity to carry out prevention work and health education.

The report also identified difficulties school nurses experience when trying to raise concerns they have about the wellbeing of a child - four out of 10 of those surveyed said child protection thresholds were set too high, making it harder to refer children to social services.

"These thresholds also resulted in school nurses picking up early child protection work and developing support activities for rejected cases - work previously done by social workers," the report states.

"As a result, schools and school nurses often hold significant child protection concerns, without the power to intervene," the report states.

Meanwhile, one in three nurses said policies at some schools, particularly academies and faith schools, restricted what they could teach on subjects such as drugs, sexual health and bullying.

Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England, said: "School nurses have a vital role to play in schools protecting children as well as promoting their wellbeing. 

"It is clear from this research that school nurses face significant barriers in working directly with children and young people, with paperwork getting in the way.

"The support they offer needs to be better promoted and new ways to enhance their engagement with children explored."

Chair of the Local Government Association community wellbeing board, Izzi Seccombe, said: "Councils want to see school nurses being able to work directly with children, rather than spending too much time on paperwork, and many local authorities are looking at new models by redesigning what school nurses can do.

"School nurses can play a really important role in the early identification of any child protection issues, but for proper safeguarding to be carried out, there needs to be more investment by government in local services."

Sharon White, professional officer at the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), said it had previously called for school nurses to be released from paperwork taken up by safeguarding processes.

"Where school nurses are visible, accessible and confidential, children and young people can and do share their health worries and concerns," she said.