Skip to content

Health Visitor

As a Health Visitor, you will support babies, children and families to get the best possible start in life. You'll work closely with parents and carers, providing advice, guidance and practical support on topics such as child development, feeding, health, wellbeing and safety. If you're passionate about helping families thrive and reducing health inequalities, this is a rewarding role where you can make a lifelong difference

Health Visitor is also known as Public health nurse.

Role Characteristics

  • Support parents and carers during their transition to parenthood in the weeks following the birth of their baby
  • Provide support and advice with breast feeding, infant feeding and healthy eating for young children
  • Assess children’s growth and development needs
  • Promote the best start in speech, language and communication including identifying any additional support needs
  • Support parents and childrens mental health
  • Advise on minor illness, home safety, safe sleep and accident prevention

Skills

  • Active listening
  • Advice giving
  • Empathy
  • Observation
  • Taking initiative
  • Communication

Day in the life

Watch this video to find out more about being a Health Visitor.

Routes into this role

Here are some example routes that can lead into this role.

  • GCSEs
  • BTEC, T-Level or A-Levels
  • A-Levels
  • Undergraduate degree
  • Degree apprenticeship
  • Postgraduate degree

How to become

To become a Health Visitor, you will need a degree in Nursing or Midwifery, followed by specialist Health Visitor training. There are many ways to access university-level education, and you can explore lots of current opportunities in the section below. 

You might:

  • Study A Levels, BTECs or T Levels – useful subjects might include Health and Social Care, Biology, Human Biology, Psychology, Sociology or other science-related subjects.
  • Complete an Access to Higher Education course – a college course designed for adults who want to access higher education but don’t have the traditional requirements such as A Levels.
  • Complete a Foundation course – a year-long university course designed to prepare you for studying Nursing or Midwifery if you do not have the required qualifications or grades to go straight into a degree.

You will then be ready to study at university level. This can include:

  • Studying an undergraduate degree in Nursing or Midwifery.
  • Completing a Degree Apprenticeship – gain experience in the workplace while also studying a qualification in Nursing. 
  • Completing Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) training once you are a registered Nurse or Midwife and have relevant professional experience. 

Alongside education, you may also want to build relevant work or voluntary experience in healthcare settings, children's services, nurseries, schools, family support services, community organisations or charities, and think about developing your communication, active listening, empathy, observation, relationship-building and problem-solving skills. 

To work in this role, you must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Where can this role lead

From your role as a Health Visitor, you could specialise in public health, infant feeding, child development, safeguarding or supporting children and families with additional needs. These areas build on your expertise in child health, prevention and early intervention.

Your experience supporting behaviour change, promoting health and wellbeing, and working closely with families and communities would also transfer well into sideways moves such as Health Trainer, Social Worker or Community Development Support Worker. 

If you would like to progress your career, you could move into teaching within the community, become a Practice Assessor supporting future healthcare professionals, or contribute to clinical and academic research. 

You could also move into higher education as a Lecturer or Researcher, helping to develop the next generation of health and care professionals and improve services for children and families. 

If you would like to move into broader public health or community-based roles, careers such as Health Trainer, Social Worker or other community wellbeing roles could offer opportunities to support people across a wider range of ages and settings

Location

  • Community Settings
  • Hospitals
  • Peoples Homes
  • Schools, colleges and universities
  • GP Practices
  • At Home

Working hours

  • Full Time
  • Part Time
  • Weekdays
  • Casual Hours
  • Overtime
  • Flexible Hours

Opportunities

Two people smiling whilst working Woman in facemask working
Access to university
BSc Midwifery (Blended Learning)
We are proud to offer one of the few blended learning midwifery degrees in the UK, in partnership with NHS England.
Organisation
University of Leeds
View opportunity
Access to university
Access to Higher Education (Midwifery)
Our Level 3 courses are designed to give learners the UCAS points needed to progress to university. The courses are fully online courses, where you can access the course materials and assessments 24 hours a day. 
Organisation
Heart of Yorkshire Education Group
View opportunity
Access to university
Access to Higher Education (Nursing)
This qualification is the ideal stepping stone for those seeking to further their education and career prospects, offering a flexible and supportive route into higher learning.
Organisation
Heart of Yorkshire Education Group
View opportunity
Volunteering
Volunteering in Health and Care
Find out more about volunteering opportunities in Health and Care
Organisation
Volunteering Opportunities
View opportunity
Undergraduate Degree
BSc Midwifery
This degree course prepares you to become a midwife, using a student-centred approach of problem-based learning which helps supports complex decision making and teamwork. This develops your autonomy to apply twenty-first century thinking to clinical practice, whilst becoming an innovative and dynamic registered midwife.
Organisation
University of Bradford
View opportunity
Undergraduate Degree
BSc Nursing (Adult)
Develop the knowledge, expertise, and attitude to begin your career as a registered nurse. You'll learn to lead and coordinate care on this nursing degree.
Organisation
Leeds Beckett University
View opportunity
Undergraduate Degree
BSc Nursing (Adult)
The three-year full-time degree in Nursing leads to a professional nursing qualification and eligibility to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Organisation
University of Bradford
View opportunity
Back To Top