KEY POINTS:
Hearing problems at risk of going undetected are being picked up by Finlayson Park School's in-house health nurse.
Principal Shirley Maihi said glue ear was rife in the community but because it came and went, cases were sometimes not picked up when state hearing specialists visited.
The condition was especially problematic because if children couldn't hear in class, learning lessons was harder.
The nurse - employed for 20 hours a week for the last three years under a rare partnership with Counties Manukau District Health Board - makes sure all new students have had Well Child checks and are up to date on immunisation.
The Herald understands similar checks could be introduced nationally from next year, if a Ministry of Health-led B 4 School Check system goes ahead. It will be tested soon.
Mrs Maihi said staff health nurse Meri Ormsby went further, including seeing parents if needed. She said the school had detected many hearing problems, particularly cases of glue ear.
"When children come into the school and they get their five-year check by the hearing and vision people, they may be fine on that day. And the very next day, their ears are running and they've got poor hearing," she said. "We are finding that, because we've got someone on site, she's picking this up straight away."
Mrs Maihi said it was unusual to have a registered nurse at a primary school but it was part of the drive to ensure health and wellbeing didn't get in the way of children's education.
The nurse - who is bi-lingual - works 20 hours a week as part of a suite of health professionals on-site at the Manurewa school, including a counsellor and social worker.
Kidz First Community Health service manager Sue Miller said the partnership with the school was rare and hugely successful.
Under the partnership, Ms Ormsby was on staff at Counties Manukau District Health Board and the school paid the board for her hours. This was to keep the registered nurse's professional development current and support systems in place.
Mrs Miller said that despite the robust programme of hearing and vision testing in schools, which involved a team of 10 technicians in Counties Manukau, gaps were inevitable when children were away sick.
Elevated rates of absenteeism and transience in the area aggravated the problem, she said.
Mrs Miller said Finlayson Park School was known as progressive and was adopting a holistic approach for the care of children.
The school's initiatives included education sessions and providing breakfast and lunch for children who would otherwise go without.
Mrs Maihi, principal for 18 years, said the health professionals first joined the school about seven years ago. The service, funded through a variety of methods including donations and grants, developed with the health nurse initiative.
* Next week: Good news from other schools.
The school
Where: Finlayson Park School, Manurewa.
What: Health and wellbeing services at school, including a health nurse, counsellor and social worker, which even students' mums and dads can use.
Why: To try to make sure children are healthy and can learn.
Result: 35 per cent of children identified with ear problems.
