As winter illnesses continue to circulate at high levels and pupils are returning to education, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a reminder on how to minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings.
UKHSA advice remains clear that children can continue to attend as normal unless they are unwell and have a high temperature. Further information on when a child is too ill for school or nursery is available. There is no requirement to be absent from school on a precautionary basis. School staff should continue to maintain their high expectations for face-to-face attendance.
For further information, please also see our Education Hub post on the latest guidelines around COVID-19 and for Strep A, our separate post on the exact circumstances in which children should be kept off school.
UKHSA is providing regular updates on Strep A. Both UKHSA and DfE are continuing to closely monitor the situation.
To help reduce the risk of some illnesses, including flu, vaccinations are being provided in schools. UKHSA, in collaboration with NHS England and DfE, have produced a briefing for secondary schools giving details about all vaccines offered to adolescents in schools and the role that schools play. This includes information on the flu vaccination programme being offered this year to those in Years 7, 8 and 9.