Health Visiting including Family Nurse Partnership and a Young Parents Pathway
Health Visitors are qualified nurses or midwives with specialist community public health training and can offer families with children aged 0 to 5 years
- support for the health and wellbeing of your whole family, providing antenatal visits, a visit after the midwife ends her care once your baby has arrived, and support and advice until your child goes to school
- advice on healthy choices, e.g. breastfeeding, introducing solids and healthy eating
- developmental reviews to ensure your child is reaching their full potential
- advice on the childhood immunisation programme, which ensures your child is protected against disease and infection
- information about specific difficulties, such as postnatal depression
- support for your whole family into education, training or work
- advice and information on wider issues such as housing problems or domestic abuse
- help with specialist services to support additional needs, e.g. speech and language
- support for you to feel confident in your parenting skills and to provide the best opportunities for your baby as their grow
Health Visiting and Children's Centre service - Suffolk County Council
The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme is a voluntary home visiting service for first time mums, aged 21 years and under, who live in Suffolk.
Family nurses use programme guidelines, materials and practical activities to work with young parents, including the father and wider family.
Family Nurse Partnership - Suffolk County Council
The Young Parent’s Pathway is a home visiting voluntary service within the 0-19 Health Visiting service that supports mothers to be under the age of 20 years old, who live in Suffolk.
Young Parent's Pathway - Suffolk County Council
School Nursing including the National Child Measurement Programme
School Nurses are qualified nurses or midwives with specialist community public health training and can offer families with children aged 5 to 19 years:
- support for the health and well-being of your whole family, with seamless links from the health visiting service
- support to ensure your child is reaching their full potential
- advice on the immunisation programme, which ensures your child is protected against disease and infection
- specialist support, advice and information on wider issues such as anxiety, stress and depression
- hearing and Vision screening in Reception
- access to a range of parental workshops in schools
- health assessments for Year 6, Year 10 and pupils transferring into Suffolk (currently being developed)
- confidential health 'drop-ins' in secondary schools for young people offering Suffolk c-card condom scheme, chlamydia testing, pregnancy testing and emergency hormonal contraception provision
- confidential 'drop-ins' in pupil referral units and special schools
- Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan support where involved
- follow up (if required) for accident and emergency attendance and police domestic abuse referrals
- support for you to feel confident in your parenting skills and to provide the best opportunities for your child as their grow
They also support schools by delivering:
- assemblies at key transition points
- termly locality training for schools on management of asthma, epilepsy and anaphylaxis (in Lowestoft and Waveney this is provided by James Paget Hospital)
- individual training in schools where required
- identifying health needs within their school community, working with them to create a health and well-being action plan. (This is currently being piloted in two areas with the aspiration to increase participation to all schools)
School nursing - Suffolk County Council
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) measures children in reception class (aged 4 to 5 years) and year 6 (aged 10 to 11 years).
The data is used at a national level to support local public health initiatives. For example, exercise and healthy eating, as well as informing local planning and delivery of services for children.
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) - Suffolk County Council