Summary

We are looking to recruit a School Nurse working 30 hours per week.

Detail

An introduction to King’s Ely

Purpose, Ethos and Values

King’s Ely exists to make the most and best of childhood, and in particular to give the very best education, opportunities and pastoral care to as diverse a community of children as we can. In doing so we aim to prepare each one to live positive, productive, successful and fulfilled lives, for the betterment of themselves and the world around them. We achieve this through the operation of a family of schools centred around a 2-19 co-educational day and boarding school in Ely, aiming to draw fully on our exceptional environment, history, physical, cultural, spiritual and human resources in doing so.

History

King’s Ely can trace its origins from at least 970AD, making it one of the oldest schools in Europe. The School was first established to educate the choristers of the worshipping community of Ely and throughout our history we have maintained strong links with Ely Cathedral.

In 1541, King Henry VIII founded a College of Canons at Ely Cathedral to replace the monks whose monastery has been dissolved in 1539 and the School received its Royal Charter, later becoming known as “The King’s School”.

King’s Ely Today

In recent years King’s has expanded rapidly, becoming co-educational in 1970, and today educating around 1100 children aged 2-18 at Ely, including 185 boarders.

The school is divided into three sections: King’s Ely Senior (age 13-18) and King’s Ely Prep (age 7-13), which occupy adjacent campuses and benefit from shared facilities, and King’s Ely Acremont and Nursery (ages 2-6) which have their own self-contained campus about 400m from the main site. Additionally, Fairstead House School in Newmarket (for pupils aged 1-11) joined the King’s Ely family of schools in 2022.

The main campus extends to around 75 acres and contains buildings spanning the thirteenth to twenty-first centuries, including many of the historic monastic buildings adjacent to Ely Cathedral as well as more recent, purpose-built facilities and almost 40 acres of playing fields.

King’s Ely plays a key role in the local community. We are one of Ely’s largest employers and contribute greatly to the local economy, and we also continue to educate the choristers of Ely Cathedral. King’s Ely also offers a number of bursaries to enable pupils from all walks of life to benefit from the education it offers.

In its recent ISI Inspection (March 2025), King’s Ely was found to meet or to exceed all regulatory standards. In addition, the Inspectors judged the School to have a significant strength in the way in which its high quality pastoral care is interwoven with a dynamic enrichment programme. This enables “pupils of all ages to develop their independence, intellectual curiosity, creativity and socialization particularly well”.

The School is rightfully proud of the Inspection. It is testament to the community spirit of King’s Ely and the commitment and respect shown each day by pupils, staff and their families.

King’s Ely is affiliated with the HMC, Society of Heads, IAPS, the Boarding Schools’ Association and the Choir Schools’ Association.

Job Description

1. Management

Work as part of a team in the Health & Wellbeing Centre taking into consideration the nursing and pastoral needs of pupils across each area of school.

Work within a shift pattern with two other nurses, and a health care assistant, as required, throughout the week and covering ‘on-call’ hours. On occasions it may be necessary for the nurse to sleep over night in the Health & Wellbeing Centre.

2. Nursing

Provide nursing services to each pupil, all members of staff and any visitors while on site.

This will include:

Organisation and running of nurse drop-in clinics during the span of duty within agreed level of competence. Pupils attend for routine medication and nursing needs.

Organisation of appointments for the Doctor’s surgery as necessary.

Arranging for boarding pupils to attend any medical, dental or other health appointments as necessary.

Assessing, implementing and evaluation of in-patient care of pupils admitted to the Health & Wellbeing Centre within agreed levels of competence.

Provision of first aid and emergency care and treatment as necessary. This includes stock of all school first aid kits.

Provision of confidential health advice as appropriate.

Aim to identify and meet where possible and appropriate the physical and emotional needs of pupils developing individual care plans as required.

3. Preventive Health

Carry out pupil surveillance programmes.

Follow good practice and specific directives on immunisation procedures relevant to the school population and individuals.

Operate procedures for infectious diseases control.

Follow procedures for the safe disposal of clinical waste.

Be aware of recommended safe storage, usage and disposal of medical supplies and drugs.

Maintain treatment room stock, hygiene, and tidiness.

Health Education

Promote health education throughout the school population.

Take part in the delivery of Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons as appropriate.

Keep up to date with current health promotion initiatives.

Administrative

Maintain medical records accurately, confidentially, and safely.

Keep nursing records to a high standard.

Record administration of drugs following the School Medication policy.

Advise and assist the Lead School Nurse in writing school health policies and medical protocols.

Set up and organise school medical examinations and other surveillance audits.

Health and Safety

Have an involvement and awareness of health and safety issues within the school affecting staff, pupils, or the environment.

Keep records of reported accidents.

Be aware of child protection procedures following the school policy.

Assist the Lead School Nurse in completing general and specific risk assessments as necessary (develop individual pupil Health Care Plans).

Liaison – Internal

Work as part of the nursing team.

Work closely with house masters and house mistresses (HsMs), teaching and non-teaching staff to ensure seamless and continuous care of pupils.

Liaison with the Wellbeing Lead.

Liaison with the Lead School Nurse.

Liaise with school counsellors.

Attend half-termly Health and Safety meetings in the absence of the Lead School Nurse.

Attend other school meetings in the absence of the Lead School Nurse.

Liaison – External

Liaise with the local GP practice and School Doctor

Liaise with multidisciplinary health professionals, pharmacy etc.

Liaise with appointments and admission staff for consultants, orthodontics, dentist and opticians.

Liaise with parents/guardians/carers.

Training

Provide training regarding medical conditions to members of staff to raise awareness and keep basic skills up to date.

Attend regular CPD training to maintain skills and experience.

This description is not exhaustive and may well be subject to change over time. The intention is to offer candidates an accurate impression of the expectations commensurate with the post and an outline of the role as it is envisaged at this time.

Full job details can be found in the attached information pack.

Terms and Conditions

• Enrolment in the statutory auto-enrolment pension scheme. The employer and employee contribution rates for the auto-enrolment pension scheme are currently: Employee contribution 5% and Employer contribution 3%.
• Members of staff may educate their own children in any of the three parts of the school or at Fairstead House, subject to availability of places and successful admissions procedures. Staff currently enjoy a discretionary discount on fees for children in Reception year onwards, details of which will be provided upon request.
• The School offers a private healthcare insurance scheme, which staff may opt to join, at their expense, shortly after the start of each academic year (the policy starts on 1st November each year). The scheme can only be joined at the start of the policy year, not part-way through the year.
• School lunch provided when at work over lunch time and tea and coffee throughout the day.
• Limited use of school gym facilities (during specific times) and use of the school swimming pool at specific times (during summer school holidays – small fee applies)
• Limited free on-site parking.
• Employees and their dependants have access to a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to Salary Sacrifice Schemes such as: Cycle2Work, Home and Tech Scheme and Local Gym Membership.
• Members of staff are entitled to 10% discount on all King’s Ely school uniform ordered for their own children from Schoolblazer.
• Discounts at local businesses including Poet's House, The Almonry Kitchen & Tearoom, Ely Grazing Company, Sushi and Salad, Griddle Bar and Meathouse, and The Pantry (Newmarket).

• King’s Ely is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure & Barring Service.

• If you are selected for interview, you will need to provide and bring with you photographic proof of identity (eg passport or photo driving license), birth certificate, documentation confirming your National Insurance Number or your right to work in the United Kingdom, proof of address (eg recent bank statement/HMRC correspondence/utility bill) and certification of declared qualifications

We appreciate your effort in completing this application and for your interest in working for King’s Ely.

Documents

• Info pack School Nurse (1) PDF Document