Croydon Public Health Nursing

Croydon Public Health Nursing

Where did the saying it takes a village to raise a child come from?

The phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” originates from an African proverb and says that it takes many people to provide a safe, healthy environment for children. Here in Croydon, the public health nursing service is part of that village, as we have dedicated colleagues who really want to make a difference to children and families.

Public Health Nurses - Who we are

  • Health Visiting Service: This service typically works with families with children under the age of 5. They lead on a whole range of activities such as health reviews, parenting support, nutrition and breastfeeding support. 
  • School Nursing Team: This is the team you will be involved with once your child reaches school age. The nursing team forms part of a broader School Health Team (SHT) involving other professionals. 
  • School Age Immunisation Services: This team is currently commissioned by NHS England to deliver school-based immunisation programmes, in which homeschooled children and children not in mainstream schools are also included. 

Explore the tabs below to see more information on each of the services we provide.

Health Visiting

Who are we?

The Health Visiting Team consists of:

  • Specialist Community Public Health Nurses,
  • Staff nurses  
  • Nursery Nurses

Collectively we are The Health Visiting Team who are part of the 0-19 Public Health Nursing Team.

For information from the Institute of Health Visiting, here.

We work with:

  • All Families with children aged 0 – 5 years old, who are registered with a Croydon GP or resident within the Croydon Borough.

Our aims:

  • To deliver the Health Child Program aged 0-5 years
  • To identify health needs as early as possible
  • Improve health & wellbeing by promoting health,
  • preventing ill health
  • reducing equalities
  • We work with other professionals to safeguard children and families.
  • We work with other professionals to provide support to all families where required.
  • Signpost to local services within the Croydon borough.

Becoming a new parent can be daunting especially knowing what is normal or not. As you get to know your baby, this will get easier. Health visitors are a great source of support and information, see here.

Please see the Department of Health: Healthy Child Programme here.

Find out a little about who the Public Health Visiting team are and what they do here .

Contact the team below:

Telephone: 0208 274 6442 

Email: ch-tr.usachub@nhs.net

School Nursing

School Nursing Team

Who are we?

The school health team consists of:

  • Specialist Community Public Health Nurses,
  • Staff nurses  
  • School Assistants

Collectively we are The School Health Team who are part of the 0-19 Public Health Nursing Team

What we do

Healthy Child Programme: 5 to 19 years old - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We work with:

  • Children and young people from reception to Year 13
  • Young people who are school aged who are not in Education or employment (NEET)

Our aims are to:

  • Prevent ill health
  • Support the emotional health and wellbeing of children
  • Ensure the child's health needs are supported by their school and community
  • Work with other professionals to safeguard children and young people

Find out a little about who the School Nursing Team are and what they do here.

Contact the team:

Telephone: 020 8274 6391

Email: ch-tr.croydonschoolnurses@nhs.net

School Aged Immunisation

School Aged Immunisation Team

Who we are

The school health team consists of:

  • Specialist Community Public Health Nurses,
  • Staff nurses  
  • School Assistants

Collectively we are The School Health Team who are part of the 0-19 Public Health Nursing Team

What we do

Healthy Child Programme: 5 to 19 years old - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We work with

  • Children and young people from reception to year 13
  • Young people who are school aged who are not in Education or employment (NEET)

Our aim is to prevent

  • Ill health,
  • Support the emotional health and wellbeing of children
  • Ensuring health needs are supported within school and community
  • We work with other professionals to safeguard children and young people
  • Signpost to local services

Find out a little about who the School Aged Immunisation Team are and what they do here.

Contact the School Aged Immunisation Team

Telephone 0208 274 6453

Email  ch-tr.immunisationteam@nhs.net

Infant Feeding Team

Who we are and what we offer

We support the right of all parents to make informed choices about how to feed your baby and we will support you in your decision. Breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby. There are important benefits which breastfeeding provides for both mother and baby and we therefore encourage breastfeeding.

Croydon NHS health visiting service currently holds stage 2, of the Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative. We are currently working towards a stage 3 accreditation.

https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/accreditation/

Learning and Development - Practice educators

Who we are

The role of the practice educator is broad and diverse as it entails providing an educational concept for children’s services across the 0-19 teams which incorporates health visiting, school nursing and immunisation teams.

What we do

The practice educator fosters an environment which values education as part of the philosophy of the practice area. The practice educator facilitates student induction and ensures the practice area is conducive for learning. Close links are maintained with academic institutions.

Find out more about what the team do here.

Join our team

If you're looking for a role as a Public Health Nurse, why not join us here in Croydon? Check out our current vacancies here.