The sample statement.
This is the shape of what you get: one paragraph per criterion, each with a real example, under the word limit, in your own voice.
SAMPLE. The applicant, the ward and the Trust below are made up to show the shape of a finished statement. A real statement uses only the facts you send, mapped to the person specification in your advert.
Supporting information — Staff Nurse (Children's), Band 5
I am a newly registered children's nurse (NMC PIN active since September 2026) applying for the Band 5 Staff Nurse post on Ward 12. My final placement was 12 weeks on a 24-bed general paediatric ward, where I managed a caseload of four patients under supervision by week ten. I have set out below how my experience meets each essential criterion in the person specification.
- Registered children's nurse (NMC)BSc (Hons) Children's Nursing, 2:1, University of Westbridge, 2026. NMC registration completed September 2026. Placements: general paediatrics (12 weeks), children's ED (6 weeks), community children's nursing (6 weeks), neonatal unit (4 weeks).
- Communicates clearly with children, families and the teamOn a 24-bed children's ward I handed over to the night team every shift using SBAR. I explained care plans to parents in plain words, checking back what they had understood, and my mentor's final sign-off noted that families "always knew what was happening next". With a non-verbal four-year-old I used a picture board to agree a pain score before each dose.
- Safe medicines managementI completed the Trust's paediatric medicines competency and administered oral, IV and nebulised medicines under supervision, including weight-based dose calculations double-checked against the BNF for Children. On one shift I queried a prescribed dose that was above the weight-based range; the prescriber corrected it before administration and the incident was logged as a near miss.
- Recognises and escalates the deteriorating childI used PEWS on every observation round. When a six-month-old's respiratory rate and work of breathing rose over two sets of observations, I escalated to the nurse in charge and the registrar within ten minutes; the child was moved to high-dependency monitoring and started on high-flow oxygen.
- Works as part of a multidisciplinary teamI attended daily board rounds and brought the nursing view on discharge readiness. In community placement I visited families alongside physiotherapists and dietitians and wrote joint notes on the shared record.
- Commitment to safeguardingLevel 3 safeguarding children training (2026). On placement I noticed unexplained bruising on a toddler's inner arm, documented it with a body map, and raised it with my mentor and the safeguarding lead the same shift, following the Trust procedure.
- Reflective, committed to learningI keep a reflective diary in the NMC format and used it for my revalidation-ready portfolio. After the near miss above I wrote a reflection on challenging a prescription as a student, which I shared with my cohort.
- Trust values: care, respect, teamworkI chose this Trust because its children's services were rated Good for being caring in the last inspection, and because Ward 12 runs a play-specialist-led pre-op programme that matches how I want to work: preparing children, not just treating them.
I would welcome the chance to bring this experience to Ward 12 and to grow into the role under the Trust's preceptorship programme.
Word count: about 560 of a 1,500-word limit. Statements are written to the limit in the advert.