Special School Nurse

Job summary
The post holder will work as a Special School Staff Nurse under the direction of Special School Nurses to support the provision of health care to children and young people in Special Schools across the Special School Nursing portfolio . This is as part of each school's requirement to ensure that arrangements are in place to support children and young people with medical conditions.

The post holder will provide clinical and associated public health nursing of children and young people , in partnership with the Special School Nurses, Clinical Lead for Special School Nursing, Community Children's Nurses, Community Paediatricians and other health professionals to ensure the provision of safe, high quality health care.

They will liaise with clinical experts for the provision of specialist knowledge, skills and leadership as required.

The post holder will be responsible for advising and supporting school staff with the everyday health care needs of the children and young people attending the Special Schools and Colleges. They may have a delegated caseload and/or may be requested to support with ad hoc work with supervision from a senior nurse. They are expected to work as an autonomous practitioner within their sphere of professional practice liaising with the Named Special School Nurse for the Special School.

Main duties of the job

• Work within level of competency to deliver quality nursing care, support, information and advice, for a supervised and / or delegated SSN caseload helping to ensure that appropriate resources are available to assist in providing this care.
• Provide clinical children's nursing and public health advice within the school setting
• Develop and implement care plans for children and young people with complex health needs and disability.
• Work within level of competency to identify and provide child specific health care procedures training for school staff, including competency-based assessment where required.
• Help develop, implement and review clinical protocols and standard operating procedures which assist in delivering safe care and best nursing practice.
• Contribute to single and multiagency safeguarding of disabled children, young people and young adults.
• Contribute and support the delivery of health promotion packages appropriate for a Special School setting and service delivery.

About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.

Why work for us?

• Positive 2024 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
• Varied environments: community hospitals, patients' homes, and bases across Sussex
• Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
• Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
• Accredited Living Wage Employer, we ensure fair pay for all our staff
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
• Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
• Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust

Our values
-- Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence -- guide everything we do.

We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.

This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.

Details
Date posted: 28 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £32,073 to £39,043 a year
per annum pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Term time hours
Reference number: 150-KB2628-CC-B
Job locations: Sea Side View, E Block, Brighton General Hospital, Elm Grove, Brighton and Hove, BN2 3EW, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• eliver and help within the Special School Nursing hub to help ensure the consistent delivery of safe quality nursing care for children and young people.
• Continue personal, professional development to ensure competency in key SSN skills relevant to role.
• Contribute to the School Health Care Plans and emergency care plans working alongside the designated Special School Nurse

For further details please use job description and person specification.

Person Specification
Qualifications and/or professional registration

• Essential: Registered Nurse - Child or Learning Disability
• Current registration with NMC
• Desirable: Module in mentorship, ENB 998 or equivalent Specialist Public Health School Nursing qualification.
• Current registration with the NMC Registered Nurse

Experience

• Essential: Experience of working in partnership with other agencies
• Relevant post registration experience in child health care
• Desirable: Minimum of 1 year experience of Children's / Learning Disability nursing post registration (RNC)
• Experience of working with children who have complex health, disability and palliative care needs.
• Experience of planning, managing and helping co-ordinating programmes of care in collaboration with other allied health, social, education and volunteer agencies
• Able to teach/provide health promotion Experience of School / Community nursing

Skills and knowledge

• Essential: Experience of a range of clinical competencies appropriate to the role e.g. enteral feeding, airway management, complex bowel and bladder management, tissue viability and pressure management, seizure management, recognition of the deteriorating child or willing to learn/achieve competence
• Proficient clinical assessment and care planning skills
• Able to recognise, take appropriate action and contribute to the child & adult protection process in order to safeguard children and young people
• Understanding or willing to learn of Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberties as it applies to children and young people.
• Broad knowledge of the developing child Working knowledge of relevant legislation and national guidelines
• Ability to communicate effectively complex and sensitive written and verbal information
• Ability to prioritise own workload and maintain quality care in times of pressure
• With support, ability to develop, implement and evaluate new working practices across education and health domains
• Ability to delegate skills appropriately including competency and capability assessment
• Working knowledge of IT and new technologies
• Ability to assess health care needs for children aged between 0-19 years
• Able to work collaboratively, with support, within a multi-disciplinary interagency team and liaise effectively with a wide range of stakeholders
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance
• Ability to organise and respond efficiently to complex and sensitive information
• Commitment to young person-centred care which supports choice and independence
• Commitment to ensuring the continued well-being and safety of the child/ young person at all times
• Ability to pass on skills/knowledge to others within both formal and informal environments
• Desirable: Commitment to personal and team development
• Understanding of public health care including health screening and health promotion

Other requirements

• Essential: Holds full driving license and has access to a car to meet the travel needs of the role
• Be aware of and prevent waste of resources within the service and the wider Trust
• Demonstrate a positive commitment to uphold equality and diversity policies, including the ability to role model dignity and respect for fundamental rights of disabled children.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Sea Side View, E Block, Brighton General Hospital, Elm Grove, Brighton and Hove, BN2 3EW, United Kingdom
Employer's website: (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Clinical Lead for Special School Nursing
Kate Short
View email address on meeveem.com
View phone number on meeveem.com

We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment. This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.