(Davies 1995). For school nursing it is possible to see how the hidden character of nursing work results in school nursing being seen as a ‘catch all service’ that can easily be expanded, moulded or contracted to fit the prevailing policy agenda, while their distinctive contribution as nurses is not recognised. School nursing may also be more likely to be a subject of marginalisation due to the continued prevalence in the public and policy consciousness of their historical role as the ‘nit nurse’ (Clarke, 2000). Moreover unlike other professionals such as midwives who have achieved recognition of their unique expertise through powerful alliances with their client group, the school nursing client group is also relatively ‘voiceless’ in the policy making process. Insufficient resources and lack of exclusively designated or ring-fenced resources (Kiddy and Thurtle, 2002) can be seen as another symptom of the poor structural location of school nursing in health care-decision making and the policy process. This is most recently illustrated in the UK by the Chief Nurses’ recommendation to increase funding for school nursing. The £42 million that the department of health allocated was not ring-fenced and therefore was used by primary care organisations to support other initiatives. As a result, little change has been structurally observable within the school nursing service. It seems that a central analytic task for the development of school nursing is the identification of both the uniqueness and focus of their contribution to the health of the school age population. It is with the task of identifying the most effective focus that we reviewed the underpinning body of evidence to support school nursing interventions.