what impact on the work of a primary school a Health Visitor would have

[Funnymummy]

Hi, can anyone tell me what impact on the work of a primary school a Health Visitor would have please? I have said their roles and responsibilities are Examine children to determine whether any injuries which may have been sustained are accidental. They will also always be alert during the course of their practice to any injuries which they may suspect are signs of child abuse and inform other agencies as appropriate.

Thank you

[lyn c]

Hi

• A health visitor have crucial skills in protecting children from harm and abuse, these are understanding risk factors and they recognise when there is a child or young person in need of support or safeguarding. If the child/young person is not of significant harm then they work with the parent’s to help support them, if a child is in significant harm then they will get the children removed from them with a safety order.
• They are one of the first to recognise children who are likely to be abused or neglected because of their close contact with the parents/carers. A health visitor plays a big part in all stages of a child protection process including case reviews and will have contact with parents/carers throughout the whole process.
• Support the health of babies and children under the age of five. They complete health checks usually starts approx ten days later where they take over from the midwife. They support parents with weigh in clinics and give advice on feeding, weight, height etc. They are trained to monitor the growth and development of the baby/child. They will visit your home on the very first visit where a full health check will be recorded in the babies red book, they will record your babies weight, length, reflexes, motor skills, responses to light and sound and your babies skin(this will be used in further health checks to check if your baby/child is developing right. These checks will take place when the baby/child is 8 months, 2, 3 and 5 years old.
• They work with many multi agencies and they support the work of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB). They work with different agencies to get the support that the child might need e.g. schools, pre-schools, parents, speech and language therapies, police etc.
• The health visitor will visit parents home so they will gather information such as signs and symptoms this will enable a health visitor to start the process of the signs and concerns of abuse or neglect. The health visitor will need to have access to ongoing contact with the family if abuse or neglect is suspected.
• Health visitors should use their own judgement on when to share information with other agencies
hope it helps

Lynne

[Funnymummy]

Thank you