Wellbeing and Health In-reach Nurse Coordinator program

The Wellbeing and Health In-reach Nurse Coordinator program is a partnership between NSW Health and the NSW Department of Education.  The program establishes a Wellbeing Nurse position in selected metropolitan, regional and rural communities in NSW to work with identified secondary and primary schools.

Wellbeing Nurses are employed by NSW Health and co-located in schools. The Wellbeing Nurse works closely with the school’s wellbeing and learning and support teams.  They also work closely with local health and social services to support students and their families on a wide range of health and wellbeing issues. Issues may include mental health, social and behavioural support, physical health, and peer or family relationships.

The role of the Wellbeing Nurse is to:

• identify health and social needs of students and families
• coordinate appropriate early intervention, assessments and referral of students and families to services and programs
• contribute to care coordination and case management of students and families
• build trusting relationships with students and families to identify and assess their health and social needs and address barriers to accessing services
• support access to health promotion to improve health literacy and engagement of students and families
• develop networks with health providers to build strong relationships and effective referral pathways.

The Wellbeing and Health In-reach Nurse Coordinator Program - Operational Guidelines provide further information about the roles and responsibilities of the wellbeing nurse and key stakeholders, the service delivery model and program governance.

Find schools where wellbeing nurses are based and schools receiving wellbeing nurse outreach services on the Wellbeing and Health In-reach Nurse Coordinator program map.