Millions of pupils across the UK are set to return to the classroom this week following the Christmas holidays, but a surge in winter illnesses threatens to disrupt the new term. With plummeting temperatures aiding the spread of bugs, many children may have picked up infections during the break.
Navigating the Back-to-School Bug Season
For parents, deciding whether a poorly child is well enough for school or needs to stay home can be a daily dilemma, throwing family routines into chaos. The line between a minor sniffle and something more serious is often blurred. To provide clarity, the NHS has issued official guidance on a range of common childhood conditions, specifying which ones necessitate time away from the classroom and for how long.
The advice highlights that the required period of absence can vary significantly depending on the specific illness a child has contracted. This targeted approach helps balance a child's education with the need to prevent outbreaks among fellow pupils and staff.
Illnesses That Require Keeping Your Child at Home
According to the NHS, there are several key illnesses for which parents are advised to keep their children off school. The list includes conditions where isolation is crucial for recovery and to stop transmission.
Notable examples from the guidance include:
- Chickenpox: Children must remain at home until all spots have crusted over, which typically takes about five days after the rash first appears.
- Measles: A minimum of four days isolation from when the rash first emerges is required.
- Scarlet Fever: Pupils can usually return 24 hours after starting a course of antibiotics.
- Vomiting and Diarrhoea: Children should stay home until they have been symptom-free for at least 48 hours.
- Impetigo: Exclusion is needed until the sores have crusted over and healed, or for 48 hours after antibiotic treatment begins.
The full list also includes having a high temperature, Covid-19 (if accompanied by a high temperature or the child does not feel well), an ear infection with a high temperature or severe pain, ringworm (though they can return after starting treatment), and a sore throat with a fever.
Conditions That Don't Usually Mean Time Off
The NHS also provides reassurance on many common ailments that, while unpleasant, do not typically warrant a day off school if the child is otherwise well. This helps parents avoid unnecessary absences.
These generally include:
- Coughs and colds (provided there is no high temperature).
- Conjunctivitis.
- Hand, foot, and mouth disease (if the child seems well enough).
- Cold sores.
- Head lice and nits.
- Slapped cheek syndrome.
- Threadworms.
- A sore throat without a fever.
- Covid-19 if the child feels well enough to attend.
The guidance notes that feeling anxious or worried is not a reason for absence, though it advises speaking to a GP or school nurse if it is affecting a child's daily life.
Key Steps for Parents
The NHS emphasises that if you do keep your child at home due to sickness, you must contact the school or nursery on the first day to inform them of the reason for the absence. Furthermore, if your child is attending school but has an infection that could be passed on, it is important to let their teacher know.
Parents are reminded that this is not an exhaustive list of all childhood illnesses. The full government guidance on conditions that may require a child to be kept out of school is available on the official GOV.UK website.
