Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff made the announcement at Campbell Town District High School, saying having a dedicated nurse in schools enhanced student health and wellbeing, and assisted teachers in resolving student learning problems.

“Our initial commitment prior to the March 2014 election was for 20 school nurses, they’ve been rolled out – in fact more quickly than expected, given the demand,” he said.

“They’ve been welcomed in the school communities and doing a very good job.”

Mr Rockliff said students faced “increased complexity” in managing the challenges of daily life, and that nurses would have the opportunity to work with students on their mental and physical health.

He said the state government would be willing to consider further nurse positions if demand was there.

Schools in line for nurses include Campbell Town District High School, Lilydale District School, St Helens and St Marys District Schools.

Director of the school nurses program Anthony Millward said nurses play an invaluable role in identifying and addressing health issues in-school. 

“School health nurses … work across both primary and high schools, so they do the gamut from Kinder to Year 12,” he said.

He said school nurses often discovered early developmental problems such as hearing or eyesight that were holding children back.

Recruitment opens on July 12, with a number of positions expected to be rolled out across the North in October.