Our Pledge
Learning Disability Nursing is defined by a visionary and values based approach, which places individuals and their families at the centre of their care >>
The National Learning Disability Nurses’ Forum is the ‘go to’ place for all the latest information about Learning Disability Nursing. The forum serves as a first-class communication resource and has been developed to support learning disability nurses everywhere; as well as those interested in pursuing a career in this unique and highly rewarding branch of nursing.
The forum aims to Recognise, Promote and Celebrate Learning Disability Nursing, enabling colleagues to hear about latest developments, network with one another, and share best practice.
Learning Disability Nursing is defined by a visionary and values based approach, which places individuals and their families at the centre of their care >>
Learning Disability nurses are expert practitioners, promoting the unique contribution they make, adapting and transferring their roles across a variety of different settings >>
Learning Disability Nurses are health and social care leaders, specialists in their own right, who actively advocate for change and strive to challenge injustice >>
Learning Disability nurses are led by the needs of the individuals they support, recognising that every person has the right to live as a full and as meaningful life as possible, free from inequality.
Jo Whiley speaks about learning disability nursing.
ChooseLDNursing is a collaborative project by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust to support the promotion of the BSc pre-registration learning disability nursing course at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The project is funded by Health Education England and videos produced by Jon Bryant.
Fifty years ago, quite by accident, I became a cadet nurse working with people with learning disabilities. Fifty years later as I finish my career I often reflect on the many wonderful and talented people I have met along this journey, and what learning disability nursing means to me. I have had the privilege of teaching many students, and I have watched them develop into talented, innovative, kind and compassionate learning disability nurses; all determined to make a difference. I have seen learning disability nursing standing up for people with learning disabilities and their families, enabling them to enjoy good health and wellbeing, sometimes against all the odds. It is my contention that learning disability nurses work at the very heart of initiatives to develop services for, and with, people with learning disabilities and their families. The knowledge, skills, and positive value base of learning disability nurses mean they can marshal these qualities to work in true partnership with people with learning disabilities, their families and carers across the life span. Learning disability nursing has become synonymous with bringing about valued lifestyles for people with learning disabilities and their families in the communities in which they live.
Professor Bob Gates,
Chair of the national steering group for delivery of the All-England plan for learning disability nursing
The Forum holds events, workshops and conferences throughout the year, please visit our Events Page for more information
The forum was set up in 2020 with the aim to develop a first class communication resource and network for nurses working in the Learning Disability sector. Find out more
Networking with colleagues across the country, focusing on the national policy agendas most relevant to roles.
Opportunities to influence national policy and developments through representation on SHA’s National Nurse Advisory and Development Groups
Improve nursing care provision to the people we serve.