SchoolScreener

26/09/2025

The next decade will be decisive for school health services.
On one side: growing demand. Rising rates of myopia, increasing emotional health needs, a backlog of interventions delayed during the pandemic.
On the other: a workforce under strain, and budgets that aren’t keeping pace.

We can’t keep scaling services the way we always have. Something has to give.

So what might a digital-first Healthy Child Programme look like in 2035? Well, it could look like...
.. Parents engaging with services through a secure, multilingual portal, not paper slips.. Screening data flowing instantly into child health systems: no double entry, no errors.. Dashboards that let commissioners see outcomes across entire regions, in real time.. Nurses freed up from admin to focus entirely on clinical care and support

That future isn’t about replacing people. It’s about protecting them.
The only way to make school nursing sustainable is to rethink how it’s delivered.

What would a digital-first service look like to you?

24/09/2025

Thomson Screening is proud to support the . Hearing is a precious gift, and screening for hearing problems and doing everything we can to protect our own and our children’s hearing, is so important. https://zurl.co/XulUc

Make Listening Safe Campaign UK Avoidable hearing loss amongst those with ‘normal hearing' is a rapidly growing global problem. In 2015 The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report [ which forecast that 1.1 billion people are at risk of experiencing permanent, avoidable hearing damage i...

19/09/2025

School nursing is one of the most quietly powerful forces in public health.
From eyesight to emotional wellbeing, from vaccinations to growth checks - the Healthy Child Programme touches every child, every family, every school.

And yet, much of this work happens behind the scenes. It rarely makes headlines. But without it, thousands of children would miss out on early interventions that change the course of their lives.

At a time when demand is rising and resources are stretched, it’s worth remembering: school nursing isn’t just about health. It’s about equity. It’s about making sure every child has the same chance to thrive, no matter their background.

The Healthy Child Programme might not always be visible, but it’s vital.

17/09/2025

Villa Vision uses Thomson Screening’s SchoolScreener software for vision and colour vision screening which makes the process of screening a class of children more efficient and versatile, whilst keeping children engaged in the vision screening process. So far, over 6000 children have been screened by Villa Vision using the software.
Read more in this Birmingham World article. https://zurl.co/0QNPP

Even mild to moderate vision loss can have a massive impact on a child’s behaviour, welfare and learning outcomes, sometimes leading to a life of missed potential.

15/09/2025

The Healthy Child Programme is under growing pressure:

Caseloads are increasing

Budgets are tightening

Workforce capacity is stretched

At the same time, the public health need is rising. More children are presenting with vision issues, hearing loss, or emotional health concerns than ever before. WHO predicts that by 2050, half the world’s population will be short-sighted.

So how do we sustain universal screening and assessments in this climate?

It won’t be by asking staff to work harder. The workforce is already at its limit.
It won’t be by cutting services. The risks of missed early interventions are too high.

It has to be by rethinking delivery. By making every process more efficient, by ensuring no child is missed, and by unlocking data that can guide smarter interventions at scale.

This isn’t just about saving money; it’s about protecting the future of public health services for children.

12/09/2025

School Aged Child health Programmes: investing to save

The importance of early intervention and preventative care cannot be understated.

Health visiting and school nursing teams play a vital role in delivering targeted public health services that enhance the health and wellbeing of all children and young people.

The number of school nurses has been steadily decreasing, driven by changes in commissioning arrangements and the pressures of a challenging financial landscape, requiring tough decision-making.

SchoolScreener allows school nursing teams to make the most of their funds, by streamlining working processes, increasing productivity, and releasing more clinical time to care.

Find out how SchoolScreener can support your Programme by visiting our website. https://zurl.co/oRti5

SchoolScreener is used by School Nursing Services for Vision and Hearing Screening, Immunisation, BMI, Health Needs Data, also COVID Manager

10/09/2025

Most people see the visible part of school nursing: the screenings, the vaccinations, the growth checks.
What they rarely see is the invisible work that surrounds it: the hours spent organising forms, chasing responses, entering data, and pulling together reports for commissioners.

It’s often thankless, and it can feel endless. But it’s essential. Without accurate admin and reporting, services struggle to prove their impact, secure funding, or even know which children have been missed.

The paradox? The more time staff spend on admin, the less they have for children.
That tension is one of the biggest challenges facing the Healthy Child Programme today.

Maybe the question we should be asking isn’t “How do we get school nurses to do more?”
It’s “How do we take away what doesn’t belong on their plate in the first place?”

05/09/2025

Everyone talks about “digital transformation” as if it’s about the latest apps, AI, or dashboards. It's the latest buzzword in the public sector as budgets are growing tighter and demands are expanding.
But in school health, the reality is far less glamorous - and far more important.

Real transformation isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about removing friction.

It’s about:
One-click letters instead of printing, folding, and posting

Data flowing seamlessly into CHIS/EPR systems without double entry

Staff being able to cover for each other without disruption

Parents accessing results securely, in their own time, in their own language

Digital should feel boring. It should feel invisible.
When it works, you don’t notice it, because the team is busy caring for children, not wrestling with admin.

If your digital solution isn’t giving time back to staff, it’s not transformation. It’s just another system.

03/09/2025

Here's a story we hear a lot. A school nurse recently told me she felt like a courier, not a clinician.
Her day was filled with carrying stacks of paper forms from school to school, checking boxes, and re-keying the same data into spreadsheets at night. By the time everything was logged, she had very little energy left for the real work of supporting children.

That story isn’t unique. Across the country, frontline staff are spending precious hours on admin that could be automated. And the cost isn’t just financial - it’s emotional, too. Burnout creeps in when professionals feel more like administrators than caregivers.

When we strip back unnecessary paperwork and data duplication, we’re not just cutting costs; we’re giving staff back their purpose. That shift is what keeps people in the profession, motivated and able to make a difference.

The question isn’t if we digitise. It’s whether we can afford not to.

01/09/2025

Data-Driven, Person-Centred Public Health
In an era of digital maturity and population health strategies, child health data is more vital than ever. But siloed spreadsheets and paper letters won’t get us there.

SchoolScreener® gives service managers and commissioners a real-time view of outcomes across:
•Schools
•Cohorts
•Localities

With fully anonymised dashboards, built-in KPIs, and direct integration to CHIS & EPRs, our tools support smarter service planning—and more responsive care.

Because better decisions need better data.

📈 Curious how our clients are using SchoolScreener to support population their Healthy Child Programmes? We’d be happy to show you.

29/08/2025

Children’s learning starts with their senses. But with limited staff and mounting demand, how can we ensure every child is seen—and heard?

SchoolScreener® Vision and Hearing use game-based interfaces and automated scoring to:

•Standardise screening outcomes
•Minimise training needs
•Support delivery by Bands 2/3
•Reduce transcription and referral errors

Used with millions of children, our software is multilingual (45+ languages), offline-capable, and fully aligned with UK guidelines.

No clinical experience required. Just fast, effective screening—and clearer insight into who needs support.

👁️ Let’s talk about making your screening programme smarter, faster, and more inclusive.

25/08/2025

School nursing teams are under pressure—juggling high caseloads, shrinking budgets and increasing expectations.

That’s where SchoolScreener® comes in.

Built by public health and clinical experts, SchoolScreener digitises the entire 5–19 Healthy Child Programme, across:
•Vision & hearing screening
•NCMP (height/weight)
•Health Needs Assessments
•Immunisations (with eConsent)

By automating manual admin—from consents to audit-ready reports—we’re helping teams unlock:
✅ More clinical time to care
✅ Real-time data for better decisions
✅ Seamless parent communications

One Trust saved £18,000 annually just by digitising NCMP letters. Imagine what your team could do with that time and resource.