Healthy Child Programme -

Redcar & Cleveland

What is The Healthy Child Programme?

Health visitors and school nurses use their training and experience to spot health needs early. This helps them identify concerns, understand risks and provide support before problems grow.

They offer ongoing support and build trusted relationships with families. They also help families navigate health and care services, making it easier to get the right help at the right time.

Using the right skills at the right time, they can give advice, share information and signpost to other services when needed.

Health visitors and school nurses use a family health needs assessment (such as EHA or Signs of Safety and Wellbeing) to decide what support can be provided within their service and when a referral to specialist support is needed.

Even when specialist services are involved, health visitors and school nurses continue to provide the universal offer and work in partnership with other professionals.

Health visitors

Health visitors support families from pregnancy until a child starts school. They work with families in different places, including:

  • in families’ own homes

  • in local community settings

  • in GP surgeries or other primary care settings

All families are offered support from the health visiting team. This includes:

  • contact during pregnancy

  • a new baby visit

  • a six to eight week review

  • a 9–10 month review

  • a 27–30 month review (around two years old)

Health visitors can provide information, advice, and support with:

  • physical health for children and adults

  • child development

  • mental health and emotional wellbeing

  • social needs and keeping children safe

School nurses

School nurses provide year‑round support for children and young people with health needs. They work with pupils in schools and in the community, helping them stay healthy and well as they grow up.

School nurses can offer information, advice, and support on:

  • living a healthier lifestyle, including healthy weight

  • staying safe and well, including education about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs

  • sexual health and contraception

  • moving to secondary school and other key changes

  • school‑aged immunisations

  • continence (bladder and bowel health)


School Nurse offer

All children are offered:

  • a height and weight check and vision screening when they start school, unless parents choose to opt out

  • height and weight checks in Reception and Year 6 as part of the National Child Measurement Programme, unless parents choose to opt out

Get in touch

If you would like further information or to access the service, you can do so by sending a text message to one of the numbers below:

Please note that the numbers above only accept text messages and cannot be called.

You can also access the Chat Health service online., visit the Chat Health website for further support.

Understanding health needs and support

The Healthy Child Programme is available to every family in Redcar and Cleveland. It offers trusted support to help children grow and stay healthy.

The programme includes:

  • health checks and screening tests

  • immunisations

  • reviews of children’s development

  • information and advice to support parents and carers to make healthy choices

Support is not the same for everyone. Some families only need the universal service that all families receive. Others may need extra or more intensive support at different times.

The level of support can change as family needs change. Families can move between services as their situation or circumstances change.

The programme also shows the range of services children and families may need to have the best possible health and wellbeing.

For more information on the Redcar and Cleveland offer, please visit the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council website.