School nurse practice: a decade of change.

Good practice requires an evidence base and criteria for assessment, which was the subject of a scope review of school nurse practice across the four countries of the UK. The findings demonstrate a rich base of research into service practice, particularly in the last decade. School nursing practice has experienced a paradigm shift from a medical to a social model of care. The service now works from a public health ethos and has a preventive agenda. The focus is on the child rather than a service for schools and school nurses work in teams rather than alone. Under-resourcing continues to beleaguer school nurse practice and there are areas that need further study, particularly large-scale research into the costs and benefits of school nursing.