School Health – Warrington

General introduction

The school health team are part of the Warrington 0 to 19 Integrated Service, working with children and young people aged 5 to 19 years (up to 25 years with SEND) and their families to promote health and wellbeing with a focus on early help and support.

Each primary and secondary school has a named school nurse who is supported by their team to promote health and emotional wellbeing in schools and in the community by:

being available to discuss, in confidence, any concerns about a child or young person’s health
providing health advice to help children and young people make positive health choices
assessing children starting primary school after their care transfers from the health visitor
assessing the health of year 7 pupils before they transfer to high school
offering young people the opportunity to discuss health issues confidentially at school‑based or community drop‑ins
supporting young people with particular medical needs and providing training for education staff to help manage these needs
developing care plans to support pupils with medical needs, including allergy
delivering classroom‑based health education
working with and referring to other professionals
working with other agencies to safeguard and protect young people

The school health team also offers the universal service, support and advice to children and young people who are educated otherwise across Warrington.

How to access this service

This service is available for school‑aged children and young people, their parents and carers, teachers, health visitors, GPs, social workers, other community health professionals, hospitals and support services.

The service operates an open referral system.

Referrals can be made by children and young people themselves, parents and carers, schools, health professionals, social care and children’s services.

Download our Warrington 0 to 19 Services referral form.

You can also contact the team by email or telephone using the details in the 'Contact us' section.

About the team

The school health team consists of a range of professionals including school nurses, public health community nurses, nursery nurses and healthcare support workers.

Useful information

Information for young people

Our information for young people page gives young people clear, trusted information about health, wellbeing and where to get support, including confidentiality, mental health, sleep, relationships, healthy lifestyles and local services that can help.

Information for parents

Our information for parents page explains how the school health team supports young people with their physical and emotional health, how confidentiality works, and where families can find trusted resources and guidance.

How we support primary and high school children with SEND

We can:

liaise with parents and school staff – please contact us if you have concerns about your child’s health or development
signpost to suitable resources
complete a holistic health assessment of your child
hold a health care planning meeting with parents and school
offer advice and support to parents who request additional help

Support for young people in high schools

We offer a confidential weekly drop‑in service in high schools where young people can talk to a school nurse about their physical and emotional health and wellbeing

we provide support and advice to young people and their families in school or at home

we can refer young people to other services following assessment, if needed

we support schools to create reasonable adjustments for pupils

Access to the service

The school health team will always make sure that the service offered to you and your child is accessible.

The team can visit you at a time and in a venue that meets your child’s needs.

Information sharing

To provide an integrated, high‑quality service for children, all of our children’s services work closely with preschools, nurseries and schools.

We share information about assessment outcomes and recommended strategies so that preschools, nurseries and schools can use the same approaches every day.

We also inform preschools, nurseries and schools when a parent or carer does not attend an appointment.

Useful websites

Local offer - SEND | warrington.gov.uk
Warrington's Local Offer has lots of information about help and support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Information for parents

Information for young people