Paeds · preventive-and-community-paediatrics
School health and school-based care
Also known as School-based health · School nursing and paediatric care · School health plans · School-based health centres · School medical interface
Fellowship guide to school health and school-based care: school nursing and SBHC models, executable chronic-disease and emergency plans, return-to-learn after concussion, infection and sports outbreak principles, confidential adolescent care, and clinic–school coordination.
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Red flags
- Anaphylaxis, severe asthma, prolonged seizure, severe hypoglycaemia or collapse at school
- Suicidal ideation, active self-harm or unsafe disclosure during a school-linked encounter
- Suspected maltreatment framed as ‘behaviour’ or unexplained injuries from school reports
- Concussion with worsening headache, repeated vomiting, focal neurology or declining consciousness
- Technology-dependent child with no trained school responder or missing emergency plan
Life stages
Care settings
Clinical exam formats
Board mappings
- General and Community Paediatrics
- Preventive and population child health
- Renewed curriculum — Learning goal 5: Clinical assessment – essential general paediatrics
- Renewed curriculum — Learning goal 12: Communication with patients, families, and health professionals
- Community and preventive paediatrics
- Chronic disease and care coordination
- Clinical Applications — school health and chronic disease plans
- Long Cases
- Short Cases
- Communication stations
- 2. Professional skills and knowledge: Communication
- 4. Professional skills and knowledge: Patient management
- Health promotion and illness prevention
- Education and school interface
- Foundation of Practice (FOP)
- Applied Knowledge in Practice (AKP)
- History
- Communication
- Development
- General Pediatrics Content Outline — Domain 1: Preventive Pediatrics/Well-Child Care
- General Pediatrics Content Outline — Domain 5: Mental and Behavioral Health
- General Pediatrics EPA: Coordinate care and community resources including school
- Patient Care: Health promotion and disease prevention
- Systems-Based Practice: Coordination of care and community resources
- Interpersonal and Communication Skills: Patient- and Family-Centered Communication
- Medical Expert
- Health Advocate
- Collaborator
- Pediatrics EPA — Communicating assessment findings and management plans to patients and/or families
Two jobs that get mixed up
School health and school-based care
Clinic well-child or acute visit
Overview & Definition
Picture a parent sliding a blank “school medical form” across the desk. They want a signature before Monday. Your real job is wider. School health and school-based care is the set of services, plans and partnerships that keep children safe and learning during the school day. It includes school nursing, school-based health centres (SBHCs), written emergency and chronic-disease plans, medication systems, return-to-learn after concussion, infection and sports-outbreak responses, and confidential adolescent pathways when local law allows. [1] [2]
School is not a soft setting. Many children spend more supervised hours at school than in clinic. Asthma flares, anaphylaxis, seizures, hypoglycaemia, behavioural crises and post-concussion cognitive load all present there first. If the plan only lives in the hospital letter, staff cannot act when the child is blue or pale on the playground. [1] [4] [5]
This page owns the school interface. Dedicated leaves cover deep asthma, allergy immunology, diabetes technology, ADHD longitudinal care, and preschool or adolescent well-child packages. Cross-link those rather than hiding whole second chapters here. [8] [9]
References20ShowHide
- [1]COUNCIL ON SCHOOL HEALTH Role of the School Nurse in Providing School Health Services. Pediatrics, 2016.PMID 27217476
- [2]Kjolhede C School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice. Pediatrics, 2021.PMID 34544844
- [3]Beem AA School-Based Health Centers as the Pediatric Expanded Medical Home. The Journal of school health, 2019.PMID 31529500
- [4]Wang J Guidance on Completing a Written Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan. Pediatrics, 2017.PMID 28193793
- [5]Cogen F Diabetes Care in the School Setting: A Statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes care, 2024.PMID 39602587
- [6]Halstead ME Returning to learning following a concussion. Pediatrics, 2013.PMID 24163302
- [7]Halstead ME Sport-Related Concussion in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2018.PMID 30420472
- [8]Wolraich ML Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2019.PMID 31570648
- [9]COMMITTEE ON PRACTICE AND AMBULATORY MEDICINE 2023 Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care. Pediatrics, 2023.PMID 36938620
- [10]COMMITTEE ON PRACTICE AND AMBULATORY MEDICINE Medical Versus Nonmedical Immunization Exemptions for Child Care and School Attendance. Pediatrics, 2016.PMID 27573087
- [11]Davies HD Infectious Diseases Associated With Organized Sports and Outbreak Control. Pediatrics, 2017.PMID 28947608
- [12]COUNCIL ON COMMUNITY PEDIATRICS Promoting Food Security for All Children. Pediatrics, 2015.PMID 26498462
- [13]Flaherty EG Clinical report—the pediatrician’s role in child maltreatment prevention. Pediatrics, 2010.PMID 20945525
- [14]Rafferty J Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2018.PMID 30224363
- [15]Flynn JT Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 2017.PMID 28827377
- [16]Grossman DC, Bibbins-Domingo K, Curry SJ, et al. Screening for Obesity in Children and Adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA, 2017.PMID 28632874
- [17]Paruthi S Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2016.PMID 27250809
- [18]Piercy KL The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. JAMA, 2018.PMID 30418471
- [19]Council on Community Pediatrics Providing care for children and adolescents facing homelessness and housing insecurity. Pediatrics, 2013.PMID 23713108
- [20]Wall-Wieler E Maternal Depression in Early Childhood and Developmental Vulnerability at School Entry. Pediatrics, 2020.PMID 32817440