Special School Nurse

Job summary

Special Schools Nurses assess and triage to determine health tasks that can be delegated to school staff, who are then trained, supervised, and assessed for competency in delivering these tasks. This process includes ongoing supervision and observation throughout the year to ensure school staff feel supported and remain proficient. Additionally, staff receive refresher training, and their competency is reassessed annually or sooner if required.

This position will report to a Band 6 Special School Nurse and be overseen by the Nurse Team Lead. As a Band 5 Special Schools Nurse, you will support the service in meeting health needs within educational settings and help ensure the implementation of robust governance processes in schools.

Interviews will be held on Friday 23rd October 2026.

Please note, this vacancy does not meet the criteria for skilled worker sponsorship and therefore, we are unable to accept applications from candidates that cannot provide documentary evidence of right to work in the United Kingdom.

Main duties of the job

This post will be required to teach large groups of staff (approx. 200) as well as 1 to 1 and small groups.

You will be competency assessing staff as well as carrying out assessments on children around the training needs.

Key responsibilities include triaging, conducting health needs assessments, and maintaining accurate and timely documentation. Proficiency in IT is essential, as you will be required to record digital notes, update training records using Excel spreadsheets, and deliver presentations via PowerPoint, either in person or online using MS Teams.

The role requires strong clinical skills to deliver training and competency assessments effectively. You must be capable of presenting PowerPoint presentations and demonstrating clinical skills to varied audiences, ranging from one-to-one sessions to small or large groups, including whole-school training sessions. You will also be responsible for addressing queries and signposting to other services or professionals where appropriate.

Empathy for children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, along with exceptional communication skills, are essential attributes for this role.

This role is Term-Time only.

About us

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is due to integrate with Medway Community Healthcare on 1 October 2026. Following integration and to align our community services to the new Neighbourhood Model of care delivery, there will be a period of consultation which may result in changes affecting some services, teams or roles. Depending on the area you are applying to work in, this could include potential changes to your role, work base, reporting arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment. Any changes would be subject to consultation and managed sensitively and in line with relevant employment processes.

Rated 'Outstanding' by CQC, we deliver high-quality care that improves the health of our communities. We are looking for people who share our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive and Excellent.

We are proud to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We use protected characteristic information for monitoring only and it is not seen by recruiting managers, except where applicants choose to be considered under our disability guaranteed interview scheme.

We know life outside work matters. As a flexible working-friendly organisation, we welcome conversations about arrangements that help you thrive while supporting excellent care for our patients.

Explore KCHFT career pathways.

Job responsibilities

As a community Trust, many of our roles require individuals to be able to drive to perform their duties. Where driving is a requirement of the role, you will be asked to confirm that you hold a full UK driving licence or a full driving licence issued by an EU country (not exchanged from a non-EU country) to proceed with your application.

We are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities into employment.

Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this in your application.

At KCHFT we strongly encourage colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will do everything we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Qualifications, training and experience

Essential

• You will have a Level 6 Degree or equivalent qualification, or equivalent knowledge acquired through experience plus a diploma in nursing.
• You will be a registered health care professional with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• You'll need to have recent experience of healthcare gained through education, work experience or previous employment. This role is ideal for a newly qualified graduate nurse

Desirable

• Evidence of specialist qualifications relevant to area of practice (mentorship)
• You will need to be able to be able to use IT systems and databases.

Skills

Essential

• Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Ability to triage and complete health needs assessments
• You will need to have a customer focussed approach which is essential to provide patients, clients and their families with the best possible experience; represent the Trust when talking to and working with patients, colleagues and visitors and work together with colleagues and other teams across the Trust.
• You'll need have sound communication skills in order to understand and communicate both verbally and in writing.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.