Train to become a Health Visitor or School Nurse with CNWL

"I had worked as a staff nurse in a school nursing team for a few years in Hillingdon, then I was given the opportunity to complete the SCPHN course specialising in school nursing. The SCPHN course has allowed me to develop new skills and expand my knowledge of the 0-19 service and the delivery of the healthy child programme for 5-19 year olds and how the school nursing role is vital to supporting child and young people to develop their own knowledge in managing their own health and making healthy choices as they get older.

Hillingdon is a very diverse borough and has given me experience of understanding health inequalities, how these affect different groups in the borough. Completing the SCPHN course allowed me to understand a variety of concerns which are affecting the borough.

My practice assessor and supervisor and the wider Hillingdon school nursing service, where extremely supportive in my studies and provided me with a wide variety of opportunities to help expand on my knowledge and finish the SCPHN course.

School nursing is a varied and interesting role, and I would encourage anyone to apply to do the SCPHN course in school nursing."

What do you enjoy most about your role?

"The most enjoyable aspects of my role as a Student Health Visitor were engaging with the babies and children, supporting new parents at the new birth visit, and learning from and collaborating with my supervisor.

One of the best things in life to me is learning about and observing babies and young children develop. I found learning to work with them and their families in a public health role to be such a unique and privileged opportunity. 

The collegiality, support, mentorship and enjoyment that I was lucky enough to share with my supervisor was an incredibly wonderful bonus to my training year!"

How has your role helped you grow professionally or personally?

"The advanced communication, relationship building and listening skills that the health visiting training taught me was wonderful. It has enhanced not only my professional nursing skills, but my personal relationship and communication skills. As I encountered new families throughout Camden, I became aware of how wonderfully diverse our service users are and how my communication and cultural competence skills were challenged and supported to improve throughout the year. I'm now 16-months into health visiting, and I find that with each new birth visit my communication, cultural awareness and relationship skills are still improving."

What would you say to someone who is considering applying for a similar position?

"I think health visiting as a career is quite mysterious and poorly understood. To anyone considering applying for a SCPHN role, I would encourage them to contact a health visitor and ask them lots of questions about the day-to-day role.

There are so many different specialities within health visiting, and every Borough practices slightly differently. Personally, I chose to study my SCPHN degree with CNWL in Camden because of their commitment to continued professional development, breastfeeding support and antenatal care, and their supportive, diverse and positive workplace culture. If public health, diversity and inclusion, professional growth and paediatrics are fields that you're interested in, I'd absolutely encourage you to apply for a SCPHN position within CNWL- I am really grateful for my training year with them!"

"Having recently qualified as a SCPHN Student for the harrow health visiting team I have been able to reflect on my journey as a student health visitor and the recent transition period of becoming a newly qualified health visitor. Along my journey I have found the heart of the harrow health visiting team to be the staff, all of whom show great compassion and support.

The staff at harrow not only helped support my professional development but they played a fundamental role in supporting my emotional well-being, making me feel welcomed and always offering high levels of support whether that was listening and answering questions or offering to come on visits with myself if I wasn’t feeling confident.  Furthermore, throughout my time in Harrow I have enjoyed working in such a diverse area, I have found myself gaining new learning opportunities weekly and building upon my professional and knowledge-based skill set.

Finally, working in Harrow enables myself and other staff members to partake in the roll out of the MECSH programme. This programme is not only rewarding for parents but also for health visitors, it allows professionals and parents to build working relationships through continuity of care and further support's parents in bonding and building relationships with their new-born babies, into the early years of their life. I always look forward to seeing my MECSH families and watching the parent's and their baby's growth and bond blossom.” 

“I would recommend applying for the SCPHN course because it allows healthcare professionals to promote positive health and wellbeing in communities. It provides the ability to support families to prevent ill health, encourage positive physical health.

As well as supporting families with positive child development, this job is extremely fulfilling job unlike any other role in the NHS. I would recommend applying for the SCPHN role in Harrow as not only are the team very supportive but also gives the opportunity to see different health needs affecting different communities as Harrow is a very diverse borough."

"I enjoy the opportunity to work closely with children and their families, the work is rewarding as it’s about building relationships, offering guidance and supporting families in a holistic way. Professionally, the role has deepened my understanding of public health, I’ve been able to develop a broader perspective on health inequalities and the importance of prevention, which has been invaluable in shaping my approach to practice.

Since beginning the SCPHN health visiting course, I have enhanced my clinical assessment skills, particularly in relation to early childhood development and safeguarding. I’ve also gained a better understanding of how to deliver health promotion interventions effectively and work in partnership with other professionals to provide comprehensive care. I’ve refined my organisational skills in order to manage both the demands of my assignments and the responsibilities of my role at the same time.

My assessor and supervisor have been very approachable and supportive, offering regular guidance and feedback, which has helped me stay on track with both my practical and academic requirements. The university has also been great, providing resources such as workshops, peer support, and access to a wide range of learning materials.”

"I joined CNWL Trust in January 2023 as a staff nurse. I had previously been a staff nurse in an acute cardiac hospital for seven years and knew I it was time for a change. I will forever be grateful for CNWL for giving me the opportunity to change my career path. I thoroughly enjoyed my role as a staff nurse within the health visiting team. In April 2023 I was given the opportunity to apply for the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) programme in health visiting at Brunel University. The programme is designed to enable registered nurses who wish to work within specialist community public health nursing areas to achieve learning outcomes as set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Completing the SCPHN programme has given me the foundation and knowledge to support families and improve health outcomes for children from birth to five years of age. As the programme includes the school nursing pathway, this also gave a true insight to the 0-19 service and how we can work collaboratively to give families and children the best possible outcomes.

Throughout the programme, support was available from my practice supervisor and practice accessor who ensured my learning outcomes were achieved and encouraged me to the very end.

Qualifying as a SCPHN and graduating from Brunel University with a first-class honour’s degree has been my greatest achievement and I would highly recommend applying for the SCPNH programme if given the opportunity."