ABSTRACT
In recent years, ‘there has been a paradigm shift in school nurse practice from a medical model to a social model of working’ (DeBell and Tomkins, 2006: 18). This chapter is set against this background of change and considers how registered nurses, who work primarily in schools, can contribute to the health and well-being of children and young people in England. In it, the term ‘school nurse’ is used to denote those qualified nurses whose work with children and young people takes place in and around schools.1 Nurses working in schools may have other titles such as school health nurse or school health adviser. They respond to differing challenges and opportunities and as such their work may vary from area to area and even from school to school.
