The School Screening Team is a small group of 12 part-time School Health Care Assistants who have delivered the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for almost 19 years. The team also delivers the Vision Screening Programme, which commenced in Oxfordshire last year. The service is led by Orthoptist Priti Kashyap and Screening Coordinator Aimee Burgon.

During the academic year, the team screen approximately 7,500 reception children for vision, as well as weighing and measuring reception and Year 6 children as part of the NCMP across 245 primary schools in Oxfordshire.

The nomination

The School Screening Team were nominated by their colleague Operational Manager and Professional Lead for School Nursing Margaret Fallon.

Margaret commented:

“The team has achieved and exceeded its commissioned targets over the past two years, while also learning and implementing a new vision screening service. This required the team to develop new skills in delivering screening to very young children and to adapt to a new reporting system. Their patience, tenacity and perseverance have been central to their success.

“The School Screening Team has developed and implemented processes to ensure that parents and carers who have not registered on the online portal are identified and followed up. This enables families to access their child’s results and, where required, attend an optician or the Oxford Eye Hospital. For NCMP, the process also ensures that families are made aware of the support available to help them develop healthy lifestyles together.

“The vision screening programme is a valuable service that supports the early detection of problems and, when treatment is provided promptly, helps to achieve the best possible outcomes for children’s vision.

“This team requires significant organisation to fit in with school plans and holidays. The team has developed excellent relationships with schools, which has enabled them to deliver the screening programmes effectively.”