Meet our Academic Advisors

Melanie Hayward

SAPHNA Academic Advisor and SAPHNA Expert Advisory Group member

I am an accomplished Associate Professor of Education in the Institute for Health and Social Care at Buckinghamshire New University, holding various valued positions. As well as supporting SAPHNA as an Academic Advisor, I proudly serve as the Consultant Editor for the British Journal of Child Health, Chair of the National Forum of School Health Educators (NFSHE), Deputy England Representative for Children and Young People’s Nurse Academics UK (CYPNAUK), and Educational Advisor for the Children and Young People Student Nurse Network (CYPStNN). Additionally, I contribute as a Subject Matter Expert for Safeguarding Children for Skills for Health.

My professional journey spans various roles in Children’s Nursing, Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, Safeguarding Children and Higher Education, accumulating 22 years of experience in the NHS before transitioning into academia full-time in 2016. Within Buckinghamshire New University, I currently lead a strategic portfolio of Quality Assurance and Enhancement across all Health and Social Care programmes while actively engaging in teaching, assessing, and supporting students as the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse and School Nursing Programme Field Lead, Children’s Nursing, and Safeguarding academic.

My areas of professional expertise include child public health, leadership and management, and safeguarding. As a Nurse Educator, I am deeply passionate about high-quality healthcare education, emphasising excellence, equity, and efficiency, with a commitment to student well-being, satisfaction, and success. My research interests primarily lie in professional healthcare education and the use of social media in higher education. Actively involved in research projects, I am currently part of the Fit for Children and Young People (Fit4CYP) project and explore the use of self-selected social media by pre-registration nursing students.

I hold esteemed memberships such as being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Notable accolades include receiving the Most Inspiring Tutor Award in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the Student Union Award for Academic Partner of the Year in 2020, the Vice Chancellor’s Award in 2020, and the BNU Hero Award in 2021. I am particularly proud to have served as a Technical Advisor for the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Public Health Nursing and Midwifery, contributing leadership and expertise on a national and international scale.

I am enthusiastic about contributing to SAPHNA’s mission. I am aligned with SAPHNA’s commitment to expanding networks, staying abreast of national policies, and making a tangible difference to the health and well-being of children and young people. My multifaceted background, coupled with my active roles in national committees and involvement in research, enterprise, and authorship in education, leadership, management, public health, and Safeguarding Children provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies involved in shaping policies and practices impacting the community and a deep connection to the broader landscape of children and young people’s health.

Sarah Greenshields
Academic Advisor for SAPHNA

Senior Lecturer in Children and Young People’s Nursing and SCPHN | Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health

My name is Sarah Greenshields, I qualified as a Children and Young People’s Nurse in 2008. I worked on a busy ward in a tertiary hospital before moving into the community in 2010. I completed my SCPHN and subsequent MSc whilst working as a full time School Nurse. I am passionate about the health of our families with a specialist interest around children and young people in care

Elaine Tabony

Academic Advisor for SAPHNA

SCPHN Programme Lead for Health Visiting, School Nursing and Occupational Health Nursing

I started my nursing career in adult nursing before training at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children gaining several years’ experience in acute paediatrics. I achieved Queens Nurse (QN) status through recognition of leadership in nursing in 2009.

Whilst undertaking my BSc at Brunel University London in 1999, I started a community project across community health services and education, and subsequently was awarded the University Prize for this work. The project, Seasons for Growth Grief Education, supports children, young people and adults who have experienced significant loss. I successfully bid for funding from the Queens Nursing Institute (QNI) (2002) to continue and expand the project. Success for the project continues 20 years later where I was involved with an international evaluation 2019. I spoke at the international conference in Australia on how the Seasons for Growth Grief Education programme benefits children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s).

In 2006, whilst undertaking the MSc in Health Promotion and Public Health, I was approached by the Associate Director of Public Health to pilot a new lifestyle behaviour change programme tackling obesity and led this project liaising with health, education, local authority, sport and leisure services and public health at all levels. The project included training staff to implement the programme and provide evaluation reports. This led to a secondment one day a week for eight years in Hillingdon Public Health Department whilst managing a teams of school nurses in an area of high deprivation.

I became a lecturer practitioner at Brunel University London in 2012 and was subsequently permanently appointed to the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) team in 2015. I am now the elected vice-chair of the UK Standing Committee (UKSC). Prior to becoming SCPHN Programme Lead, I held the role of Departmental Director of Teaching and Learning (DDTL).

I am the lead lecturer at Brunel University London for Promotional Guide training in Health Visiting and School Nursing and co-author with Dr Day (2016) for the Young People’s Promotional Guide Programme for School Nursing. The guide is used to improve communication between client and practitioner by promoting a client-led conversation. This training helps school nurses to gain skills in assessment.

I am a passionate supporter of ensuring the health needs, including emotional health needs for children and young people are met and have participated in development of DH policy.