Parents and carers will know, all too well, that school-aged children often pick up lots of bugs and viruses. What if your child is showing signs of a mild cough or cold? Or maybe they have conjunctivitis or are recovering from chickenpox? Should you still send them in then? It’s not always easy to know the right thing to do, especially since the pandemic.
Unfortunately, following the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in absences from school. The government is working on this as there were around 440,000 fewer pupils persistently absent or not attending in 2022/23, compared with 2021/22. Nonetheless more than one in five children in England have frequently missed school over the last academic year, which is more than double the amount missing school pre-pandemic.
“In most instances, you can send your child to school with a mild illness, as long as their temperature is below 38 degrees. If they have a high fever, are vomiting or have diarrhoea, they should stay away from school until they haven’t had these symptoms in 48 hours. The NHS has developed a brilliant guide to help parents determine their child’s symptoms.
For some infectious illnesses, there is specific advice for how they should be managed. For example, children with chickenpox should stay at home until the itchy rash has crusted over, usually around five days after its first appearance.