Health and Safety Programs for School Nurses

As a school nurse, you advocate daily to keep students safe and healthy and have a unique opportunity to bridge health care and education. Offering educational programs to students provides many measurable and meaningful opportunities to engage with them outside of a health crisis.

With limited time and resources, you need educational programs that are turn-key and help students learn skills that will ensure healthy behaviors and serve high-risk populations. Many students in your school are home alone after school and some even have the responsibility of watching younger siblings during this time. As the school nurse, you can help prepare these students to be safe and healthy at home furthering your goal to help students flourish in school and life.

Safe@Home is a 90-minute program designed for students in grades 4-6 to prepare them to be safe when they are home alone. Students learn how to practice safe habits, prevent unsafe situations, and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies. Students are also introduced to the Safe Sitter® First Aid Chart and learn a system to help them assess and respond to injuries and illnesses.

Safe Sitter® Essentials is a next natural step in learning as it prepares students in grades 6-8 for the responsibilities of watching younger siblings and babysitting children. The course content is developmentally appropriate for middle school learners and contains interactive games and role plays to enforce key concepts and ensure healthy behaviors. Students learn:

• Safety Skills: Students learn how to prevent unsafe situations and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies.
• Child Care Skills: Students learn tips to manage behavior that will help them stay in control of themselves and the children in their care. Students also learn the ages and stages of child development, as well as practice diapering.
• First Aid & Rescue Skills: Learning skills such as choking rescue and CPR is often students’ favorite part of the class. Students also learn a system to help them assess and respond to injuries and illnesses. (CPR included in Safe Sitter® Essentials with CPR and Safe Sitter® Expanded.)
• Life & Business Skills: The ability to screen jobs, discuss fees, and greet employers will set students up for success now and in the future. Students practice these skills through various role plays.

You engage with students every day and parents trust you to provide the health care their children need to be successful at school. Leverage that trust to provide informational and educational programs to students where they also live, study, and play.

Apply now to start offering Safe Sitter® programs in your school.