Providing a healthcare input to children in special schools

The education of children with special educational needs is often accompanied by a requirement for medical or healthcare provision. If this cannot be done safely then the child's access to education is limited. No standardized template for the delivery of a healthcare input to children in special schools is apparent. This study sought to explore, through the use of an indepth needs assessment exercise and focus group interviews, what the most appropriate healthcare role was for delivering health care in a special school catering for children with a broad range of severe learning disabilities. While an overwhelming viewpoint of participants in focus groups perceived that a nurse was the only suitable person to undertake the role, the evidence gathered prompted the research steering group to suggest to the contrary, i.e. that the role of a healthcare worker with a national vocational qualification (NVQ) level 3 in care was the more appropriate person to maximize both the role of the nurse and the quality of care provided to these children.