Evaluation of a certification process for community nurses involved in sex and relationship education

Purpose - Alongside teachers, community nurses have been identified as having an important role to play in the provision of school-based personal, social and health education (PSHE) and sex and relationships education (SRE). However, there currently exist few programmes of preparation for this work that recognise the specific contribution of community nurses to SRE. This paper reports on findings from a formative evaluation of a pilot certification scheme for community nurses involved in SRE provision and recently implemented in England. The evaluation sought specifically to access views about the value of the educational experience in preparing school nurses to better fulfil their SRE role. Design/methodology/approach - During the implementation of the pilot scheme, 124 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders, including national players, local scheme support leads, nurses participating in the pilot scheme, nurse managers and other colleagues. Data gathering adopted a close-focus, largely qualitative approach. Partial transcription took place and a thematic analysis was carried out using constant comparative method. Findings - Findings suggest that a well-designed scheme of the type described is likely to be well received by community nurses, but that ways need to be found to ensure good synergy between local health and education services in the support of SRE in schools. At the same time, there is a need to respect the unique contribution of community nurses and the skills that they bring to this work. Originality/value - This paper raises awareness and highlights issues surrounding a pilot certification scheme for community nurses involved in sex and relationships in education.