On Friday 13th July, Bridget Phillipson, Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South met School Nurse Week campaigners at her constituency office in Houghton-le-Spring to offer her support for the campaign and to discuss the vital role school nurses play in helping pupils to lead a healthy life from early years.

School Nurse Week (10th-14th July) is organised by the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) section of the Unite trade union. Campaigners aim to raise the awareness of the importance of school nurses’ work in bridging the gap between education, health and home for better health outcomes, and to promote the idea of “Healthy Schools”.

Commenting on the meeting, Bridget Phillipson MP said:

“I fully support the School Nurse Week campaign and I’m grateful to the school nurses from our area who are raising public awareness of how integral their work is to the overall health and wellbeing of children and young people. This morning, I met Rachel Allen and Victoria Gray, discussing their work as school nurses.

“Despite their crucial role in improving health outcomes for pupils, school nurses are often overlooked in debates on education or health. Under the current climate of ever deepening budget cuts to local authorities and the NHS, school nurses are increasingly stretched.

“School nurses are trained to have the skills to safeguard pupil’s wellbeing, support pupils with medical conditions, and promote healthy lifestyles. It would be damaging for the public health of our country if children and their families don’t receive the support they need.

“I’m behind the campaign and I hope more school nurses’ voices can be heard.”

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