School Nurse Drop-in Sessions (primary and secondary pupils)
Every Thursday, 3.00pm – 5.00pm (including school holidays)
Health Visiting Hub, 1st floor, St Catherine’s Health Centre, Derby Road, Birkenhead CH42 OLQ
Who we are
The Wirral school nurse teams support children and young people aged 5–19 years, along with their families, to help them stay healthy, safe, and confident as they grow.
Our teams include a range of experienced health professionals such as qualified school nurses, community nurses, school nurse assistants, and NCMP screeners, all working together to provide advice, guidance, and practical support.
We have four dedicated teams across Wirral – South, West, Wallasey, and Birkenhead. Each school is linked with a specific School Nursing Team, ensuring pupils and staff have direct access to support when they need it. Young people who are not currently attending school can still receive help by contacting our duty school nurse team.
What we do
The school nursing teams work closely with families, schools, social care, and other health professionals to support young people’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. They also share regular health advice, updates, and useful information through their social media channels, helping families stay informed and connected.
If your child is starting their first year of school, you will receive a short questionnaire by email or text called the School Entry Assessment. This helps us understand your child’s health and wellbeing, support their transition into school, and identify any needs or concerns so we can provide the right support at the right time.
The National Child Measurement Programmes is a nationwide programme that measures the height and weight of children in Reception and Year 6 to help understand how children are growing across England. In Wirral, the programme is delivered by the School Nursing Service. Trained staff visit schools to carry out the measurements in a private, respectful, and supportive way. The measurements are quick and simple, and children remain fully clothed except for their coats and shoes.
What support do we offer?
Our teams are responsible for delivering elements of the Healthy Child Programme for 5 to 19-year-olds. This is a government policy developed to improve health and well-being.
Our teams deliver health reviews at:
- Reception/Year 1 (age 4–5) – including a hearing assessment and eye test, and a health questionnaire, National Child Measurement Programme
- Year 6/7 (age 10–12) – an assessment at the point of transition from primary to secondary school, National Child Measurement Programme
Our teams also offer drop-in sessions and advice for young people – more details are in How do I contact the School Nurse below. We can also refer and signpost children and young people to specialist services if required.
Ongoing support:
As well as general health and development, our teams offer advice and support around diet, activity and body image, behaviour, relationships (including forced marriage), exam stress, dental health, sexual health, self-harm and stopping smoking.
We also provide support on:
- Children and Young People’s Eating Disorder Service – Wirral: Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service 0-18 – Wirral: Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Bladder and Bowel Service (Children) – Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Drugs and alcohol | Branch Wirral
Click on the links above for more information on these services.
Support for children with complex needs
Our school nurses in specialist schools are the first point of contact for health-related issues for children and families. They work closely with several professionals in health, social care and education, and actively support clinical interventions for children and young people with particular health needs, eg intermittent catheterisation, gastrostomy feeding and providing regular training in managing common medical conditions, for example, epilepsy, diabetes, anaphylaxis, asthma and emergency medications is a key requirement of the role.
The special school nursing team provides direct nursing care to children aged 2-19 years within the four Schools for Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD).
- Elleray Park School, Elleray Park Road, Wallasey CH45 0LH (primary)
- Foxfield, New Hey Road, Woodchurch CH49 5LF (secondary)
- Meadowside, Pool Lane, Wirral CH49 5LA (secondary)
- Stanley School, Greenbank Drive, Pensby CH61 5UE (primary)
The School Nursing Service is part of Wirral’s 0-19+ Service.
How do I contact my school nurse?
Speak to a school nurse
You can meet a member of our school nursing team at our weekly drop-in session:
📍 St Catherine’s Health Centre, First Floor, Wing 3
🕒 Every Thursday, 3.00pm – 5.00pm
📅 Available all year round
No appointment is needed – just drop in to talk to a school nurse about any questions or concerns you may have about your child or young person’s health and wellbeing.
Prefer not to call?
You can complete a referral form and a member of our school nurse duty team will contact you.
📞 Telephone: 0151 514-0219
📧 Email: [email protected]
📝 Referral Form: 0–19 Health and Wellbeing Service Referral Form
ChatHealth – Text a school nurse
You can also contact us through ChatHealth, a secure and confidential text messaging service for parents and young people.
ChatHealth makes it easy to get advice and support from a healthcare professional. You don’t have to give your name if you’d prefer not to – simply send a message and a school nurse will respond.
👨👩👧 Text 07480 635 538
🕘 Monday – Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm
I am worried about a young person’s safety – what should I do?
Worried about a child?
If you think a child is in immediate danger, contact the police straight away:
📞 999 (emergency) or 101
If you are a child or young person and need someone to talk to, you can contact Childline:
📞 0800 1111
Childline counsellors are available to listen and help with any worries or problems. The service is free, confidential, and available whenever you need support.
You can also find more information here:
Worried about a child? | wirral.gov.uk
Solihull Parenting Support
Free online parenting courses for families in Wirral 👨👩👧👦
Wirral Family Hubs have partnered with the Solihull Approach to offer free online parenting courses, designed by NHS professionals to support families at every stage.
Whether you’re expecting a baby, a new parent, a grandparent, or a foster carer, these courses are here to help you feel confident and supported on your parenting journey.
Why families love these courses
✨ Completely FREE for all Wirral residents
📱 Learn anytime, anywhere – on your phone, tablet, or laptop
⏱ Short bite-sized sessions – perfect even if you only have a few minutes
🌍 Accessible to everyone – available in several languages including Polish, Arabic, Urdu, and Chinese
Learn at your own pace, whenever it fits around family life.
What can you learn about?
There are lots of helpful topics to explore, including:
👶 Antenatal and postnatal baby bonding
🧠 Understanding your child or young person
💙 Supporting children or young people with additional needs
🧑🎓 Teenagers’ feelings and brain development
✨ And many more helpful topics for family life
How to get started
Getting started is quick and easy:
1️⃣ Visit Wirral families: Build everyday emotional resilience!
2️⃣ Enter the access code MERSEY in the ‘Apply Access Code’ section
3️⃣ Create your free account and choose the course that’s right for you
All you need is an internet connection, and you can start learning today.
Immunisations
- Schedule information – NHS vaccinations and when to have them – NHS
If you have any questions about getting your child vaccinated in school, please contact The School Age Immunisation Service:
📞 Telephone: 03333 583 397 (option 7)
📧 Email: [email protected]
Useful links and information
- Facebook pages – managed by our health visiting and school nurse teams
- Instagram – managed by our health visiting and school nursing teams (search ‘0-19 Wirral)
- Frank – advice and information on drugs
- Let’s Talk (Wirral’s Risk and Resilience Service) – helping children and young people develop knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
- Childline – general advice and helpline
- NSPCC – child protection helpline: 0808 800 5000
Physical health:
- Continence support (age 5 and over) – information
- Sleep – support from the Sleep Charity
- 2024.08.05_SfL_TTFT_Leaflets_3_Digital.pdf Dental Top tips for teeth
Sexual health:
- ourPlace – Sexual Health Wirral – advice and access to local services
Emotional health:
- YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds – looking after yourself
- Kooth – free and anonymous support for your mental wellbeing
- Home | Branch Wirral – mental wellbeing hub for children and young people in Wirral, from 0 all the way to 18 (and up to 25 with additional needs)
Healthy eating and physical activity:
- Healthier Families – NHS healthy eating and activity
- Referral for weight management support – information and referral for further support on weight management
- The HENRY Programme
- NHS activity advice– for young children
Accidents and safety:
- Child Accident Prevention
- THINK! – road safety
Confidentiality and consent
We treat information about children, young people and their families as confidential. We do sometimes share information with other agencies, like GPs or your child’s school, so that the young person or child can get the help they need. We would only share this information without your agreement if it were necessary to ensure a child’s safety.
If a young person is deemed competent to give consent about their care, then they are entitled to keep their involvement with the School Nurse Service confidential.
The School Nurse Service will always encourage the young person to discuss everything with their parents/carers, but this is up to the young person to do this, unless they give consent for the school nurse to talk to the adults in their life.
No information will be shared with the school or others without a young person’s consent.
The only occasion when school nurses might consider passing on confidential information without the young person’s permission, would be in very rare circumstances to protect them or someone else from serious harm. We would always try to discuss this with them first in any case.
Confidentiality and sexual health
The law says that it’s legal for someone to agree (consent) to sex from the age of 16. If the child is under 16, they can still get confidential contraceptive and other sexual health services including abortions. They can get free condoms from some GPs, Sexual Health Clinics or young person’s clinics and as part of the C-Card scheme.
If the child is under 13 years old the law says that they can’t consent to sex. You can find out more about confidentiality, whatever your age, from NHS – If I use a sexual health service will they tell my parents?
You can also access our service user privacy notice.
The School Nursing Service is part of Wirral’s 0-19+ Service.
Helpful resources
