NEW SCHOOL NURSES FOR CLARENCE AND RICHMOND VALLEYS

Casino High School, Casino West Public School, South Grafton High School and Gillwinga Public School will be among the first in NSW to welcome a highly trained School Wellbeing Nurse thanks to Nationals in NSW Government funding which will place more than 100 specialists across the state, Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis has announced.

“The Richmond Valley nurse has already started, while the Clarence Valley position will soon be filled,” Mr Gulaptis said.

“The wellbeing nurse is an important addition in the schools and community and helps students dealing with mental health and medical issues to access services and get ongoing support.”

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Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the new registered nurses will provide support to students and parents as part of a four-year expansion of the successful School Wellbeing Nurse pilot.

“Our children and young people can feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders as they try to make sense of an unpredictable, changing world and their place in it,” Mrs Taylor said.

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the nurses form part of a wraparound mental health and wellbeing service available to NSW school students.

“It’s so important that students in NSW have access to a range of health, mental health and wellbeing services to ensure they feel supported throughout their time at school,” Ms Mitchell said.

An independent evaluation from Urbis of the pilot of Wellbeing Nurses from July 2018 to September 2020 found the nurses were successful establishing the model within schools, supporting students and families to achieve positive health and education outcomes, and linking school and community health and wellbeing interventions.