South Grafton High School and Gillwinga Public School will be among the first in the state to welcome highly trained School Wellbeing Nurses.

Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has welcomed the news and said Wellbeing Nurses will be important additions to local schools to help students dealing with mental health and medical issues access services and ongoing support.

Mr. Gulaptis also said more than 100 specialists will be placed across the state thanks to NSW Government funding.

The Honourable Bronnie Taylor, Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women said the new registered nurses will provide support to students and parents as part of a four-year expansion of the successful School Wellbeing Nurse pilot.

“Our children and young people can feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders as they try to make sense of an unpredictable, changing world and their place in it,” she said.

An independent evaluation from Urbis of the pilot of Wellbeing Nurses from July 2018 to September 2020 found the nurses were successful in establishing the model within schools, supporting students and families to achieve positive health and education outcomes, and linking school and community health and wellbeing interventions.