Specialist Practitioner School Nursing

Go back Dorset Health Care University NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 06 February 2026

Are you a qualified Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (School Nursing) with recent experience within a comparable role looking for a change?

We are looking for an enthusiastic Specialist Practitioners (School Nursing) to join and complement our forward-thinking Dorset 0-19 CYP Public Health Teams. This role is in the Chesil 0-19 CYP Public Health Team in Weymouth and Portland. You will work within the Children Young Person Public Health (CYP PH) Service to support the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme and targeted interventions to children 5 to 19 and their families.

This post is a permanent post of 30 hours per week, year-round.

For any queries please contact Jade Laycock - Public Health Locality Lead 0-19 Chesil -  

As a Specialist Practitioner, you will lead and participate in the School Nursing core programme, as underpinned by the Healthy Child Programme and will work in partnership with children, young people and families, the Local Authority, Early Intervention Services, Children's Services, Schools and other Health Care providers.

You will be required to work closely with pan Dorset 0-19 CYP Public Health Teams, to provide services in response to identified needs, including supporting the delivery of the Chat Health texting service, Safeguarding and School Nursing Requests for Support.

You will be Registered Specialist Community Public Health Practitioner School Nursing degree/diploma level

Be able to demonstrate specialist clinical reasoning skills to assimilate information in order to make a clinical judgement regarding diagnosis and intervention.

Applications from candidates that require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.

At Dorset Health Care we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.

Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do, and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities, and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.

Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion, and expertise in all we do.

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidates individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its…