School nurse jobs

School nurses in England are qualified nurses who provide public health services to children and young people of school age, usually across a group of schools rather than in one building. Most are employed by an NHS trust or another provider that the local council commissions, and paid on NHS Agenda for Change bands. Team leaders and fully qualified school nurses hold the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) qualification, which is a separate entry on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

What school nurses do

The school nursing service delivers the school-age part of the Healthy Child Programme. The work centres on prevention and on children who need extra support. Typical tasks include:

• health reviews at set points, such as school entry and the transition to secondary school
• running drop-in sessions in secondary schools, in person or by text messaging services
• supporting children with long-term conditions such as asthma, diabetes and epilepsy, often by training school staff and writing care plans
• emotional health and wellbeing support, with referrals to mental health services
• sexual health advice for older pupils
• the National Child Measurement Programme in some areas
• safeguarding, including attending child protection conferences and contributing to plans

Safeguarding takes up a large share of many school nurses’ time. You will work with the school’s designated safeguarding lead, social workers and GPs.

In mainstream schools, trained school staff usually give day-to-day first aid and routine medication, and school nurses do not. Special schools with pupils who have complex medical needs often have their own nursing team, which is a more clinical job.

Qualifications and the SCPHN route

You first need to be a registered nurse (adult, children’s, mental health or learning disability). Many school nursing teams employ registered nurses without the SCPHN qualification as staff nurses or community nurses, which is a good way to see the work.

To become a school nurse specialist practitioner, you complete a SCPHN school nursing programme, usually a year full-time or two years part-time at university, combining study with supervised practice. Some trusts sponsor staff onto the course and pay a salary while you train, in exchange for a commitment to work for them afterwards. Places on sponsored programmes are limited, so watch for adverts from your local provider.

The SCPHN qualification also covers health visiting, with a separate pathway. The health visitor profile describes that route.

Who employs school nurses

In England, councils fund public health services for children and commission providers to run them, often NHS community trusts and sometimes social enterprises. Your employer is the provider, and the school and the council are not. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, health boards or HSC trusts provide school nursing directly as part of the NHS.

Contracts change hands from time to time because services are commissioned. If a new provider wins the contract, staff usually transfer under TUPE, keeping their terms.

Pay

Most school nurses employed by NHS providers are paid on Agenda for Change. Qualified SCPHN school nurses are commonly employed at band 6, team leaders at band 7, and registered nurses in school nursing teams without the specialist qualification at band 5. Providers grade posts differently, so check the band on each advert.

Band	England from 1 April 2026
5	£32,073 to £39,043
6	£39,959 to £48,117
7	£49,387 to £56,515

These figures include the 3.3 per cent award for 2026/27. Scotland has its own higher scales, with band 6 running from £43,169 to £52,603. Staff in London and the surrounding area receive a high cost area supplement. See NHS band 6 and NHS band 5 for the pay points and progression.

Non-NHS providers may use their own pay scales, and staff who transferred from the NHS may keep Agenda for Change terms. NHS staff join the NHS Pension Scheme, where a band 6 school nurse at the entry point pays 9.8 per cent of pensionable pay in 2026/27.

Skills and pressures

School nursing suits nurses who are confident working on their own, talking to children and teenagers on their terms, and dealing with parents, teachers and other agencies. You need good judgement about when a worry is a safeguarding concern, and clear, careful record-keeping. The prevention side, such as helping a child manage their asthma at school or talking through a problem before it becomes a crisis, is where the job differs most from ward nursing.

Caseload and safeguarding are the main pressures. Teams often cover large numbers of schools, and child protection work has fixed deadlines that can push other work aside. Ask about caseload size, supervision and how the team prioritises when you apply.

Hours and working pattern

Most school nursing posts are Monday to Friday, daytime, which is one reason the job attracts nurses from ward and shift-based roles. The service usually runs all year, since safeguarding work and some clinics continue in the holidays, but term-time contracts exist in some areas. If that appeals, working term-time only explains how pay and leave are worked out. Expect to drive between schools and to work from a base with your team.