Introduction

This resource offers a structured reflective and restorative space for school nursing teams.  It follows the principles of reflective practice and focuses on a restorative process for practitioners who have been exposed to emotional stress and trauma.  School nurses in the UK have voiced the need for, and benefit of, restorative reflection in challenging times (see the School Nursing in the Time of Covid study).

Why use this resource?

This resource is unique in that it focuses specifically on restorative practice for school nursing teams.  School nursing teams are working in a time of significant health challenges for children and young people.  During the pandemic school nursing teams stepped into continued and expanded practice, responding to increased public health demands (e.g. in relation to mental health, infection control, safeguarding). There were also significant impacts on school nursing teams (eg through sickness, redeployment, and attrition).  These pressures persist as the impact of Covid and the current cost of living crisis, amongst other issues,  are affecting young people's lives, school nursing teams, and individual school nurses. 

Restorative practice has been shown to build professional resilience, mitigate stress and burnout levels, and reduce attrition. Restorative supervision was cited as a positive example of what could be done to support a compassionate NHS service in the government response to the Francis Report (Department of Health 2013). Professional Nurse Advocates have been put in place as part of a commitment to workforce well-being and recovery post-pandemic, with one of their roles being to support workforce health and well-being and promoting resilience within individuals.   

There is a need to regularly pause and reflect, acknowledge the impact on school nursing teams of persistent and emerging issues, and consider the way forward in a  climate that continues to evolve and challenge.  This resource draws on the accounts of school nurses and school nurse teams during and post-pandemic as a foundation for guided restorative reflective supervision.

How to use this resource

This resource brings together restorative practice with the process of reflective practice.  The reflective process is undertaken through guided activities. These have a restorative focus on personal and group professional experience. The restorative reflective process can be used in team supervision but may also be used on an individual basis.  Reflections can contribute to the NMC revalidation process. The NMC revalidation reflection accounts form is here.

This site consists of a central page with embedded links to information and reflective resources relating to three areas of practice: working with children, young people and families; working with the multi-disciplinary team; working in school nursing teams.   Activities could be undertaken in one extended supervisory session or over three separate sessions.  

Each section has a selection of quotes or information from school nursing teams as a springboard for reflection and discussion. There are suggested activities for each section. These facilitate: 

• description of events and personal impact - what happened?

• critical discussion - how do we feel about this?

• planning for practice - does anything need to change?

Each activity takes around 1 hour, although allowing time for extended discussion as it arises is recommended.

Links to the sections are here:

Setting up the session

1.  Working with children, young people and families.

2.  Working with the multi-disciplinary team.

3.  Working in school nurse teams.

Evaluation - short form