Illness & Absence
Please ring the school office on 01508 480 335 if your child is ill. A message is to be left on the absence line. If you have not rung the office by 9.30am, a member of staff will telephone you or text to find out where your child is. This is for your child’s safety and to ensure that we know they are safely with you. If we are concerned, we will contact the police to do a welfare call. On return to school, if the absence has been more than one day, please send a letter outlining the reason for the absence.
If you are not sure how long your child should be off school the table below will provide a guide for you.
|
Condition |
Recommended period to be kept away from school (once child is well) |
Comments |
| Chickenpox | For five days from onset of rash | It is not necessary to wait until spots have healed or crusted |
| Cold sores | None | Many healthy children and adults excrete this virus at some time without having a ‘sore’ (herpes simplex virus) |
| German measles | Five days from onset of rash | The child is most infectious before the diagnosis is made and most children should be immune to immunisation so that exclusion after the rash appears will prevent very few cases |
| Hand, foot and mouth disease | None | Usually a mild disease not justifying time off school |
| Impetigo | Until lesions are crusted or healed | Antibiotic treatment by mouth may speed healing. If lesions can reliably be kept covered exclusion may be shortened |
| Measles | Five days from onset of rash | Measles is now rare in the UK |
| Molluscum contagiosum | None | A mild condition |
| Ringworm (Tinea) | None | Proper treatment by the GP is important. Scalp ringworm needs treatment with an antifungal by mouth |
| Roseolla | None | A mild illness, usually caught from well persons |
| Scabies | Until treated | Outbreaks have occasionally occurred in schools and nurseries. Child can return as soon as properly treated. This should include all the persons in the household. |
| Scarlet fever | Five days from child commencing antibiotics | Treatment recommended for the affected |
| Slapped cheek or Fifth disease (Parvovirus) | None | Exclusion is Ineffective as nearly all transmission takes place before the child becomes unwell. |
| Warts and verrucae | None | Affected children may go swimming but verrucae should be covered |
| Diarrhoea and/or vomiting (with or without a specified diagnosis) | Until diarrhoea and vomiting has settled (neither for the previous 48 hours) | Usually there will be no specific diagnosis and for most conditions there is no specific treatment. A longer period of exclusion may be appropriate for children under age 5 and older children unable to maintain good personal hygiene. |
| E-coli and Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome | Depends on the type of E-coli seek FURTHER ADVICE from the CCDC | |
| Giardiasis | Until diarrhoea has settled for the previous 48 hours) | There is a specific antibiotic treatment |
| Salmonella | Until diarrhoea and vomiting has settled (neither for the previous 48 hours) | If the child is under five years or has difficulty in personal hygiene, seek advice from the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control. |
| Shigella (Bacillary dysentery) | Until diarrhoea has settled (for the previous 48 hours) | If the child is under five years or had difficulty in personal hygiene, seek advice from the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control. |
| Flu (Influenza) | None | Flu is most infectious just before and at the onset of symptoms |
| Tuberculosis | CCDC will advise | Generally requires quite prolonged, close contact for spread on action. Not usually spread from children. |
| Whooping cough (Pertussis) | Five days from commencing antibiotic treatment | Treatment (usually with erythromycin) is recommended though non-infectious coughing may still continue for many weeks |
| Conjunctivitis | None | If an outbreak occurs consult Consultant in Communicable Disease Control |
| Glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis) | None | |
| Head lice (nits) | None | Treatment is recommended only in cases where live lice have definitely been seen |
| Hepatitis A | See comments | There is no justification for exclusion of well older children with good hygiene who will have been much more infectious prior to the diagnosis. Exclusion is justified for five days from the onset of jaundice or stools going pale for the under fives or where hygiene is poor |
| Meningococcal meningitis/septicaemia | The CCDC will give specific advice on any action needed | There is no reason to exclude from schools siblings and other close contacts of a case |
| Meningitis not due to Meningococcalinfection | None | Once the child is well infection risk is minimal |
| Mumps | Five days from onset of swollen glands | The child is most infectious before the diagnosis is made and most children should be immune due to immunisation |
| Threadworms | None | Transmission is uncommon in schools but treatment is recommended for the child and family. |
| Tonsillitis | None | There are many causes, but most cases are due to viruses and do not need an antibiotic. For one cause, streptococcal infection, antibiotic treatment is recommended |
| HIV/AIDS | HIV is not infectious through casual contact. There have been no recorded cases of spread within a school or nursery. | |
| Hepatitis B and C | Although more infectious than HIV, hepatitis B and C have only rarely spread within a school setting. Universal precautions will minimise possible danger or spread of both hepatitis B and C. | |