Guidance on absence due to Illness

Absence Due to Illness

Regular attendance at school promotes pupils’ wellbeing and gives them the best chance of learning and reaching their potential.

However, children will undoubtedly pick up infectious diseases during their time at school and this means that they are unable to attend. In these cases, school refers to and follows this guidance when advising parents/carers of the time the child is required to remain off school: Children and young people settings: tools and resources – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . This is then recorded on your child’s record as to why they were absent.

All absences, whether illness or otherwise, must be reported to the school office before 9am on the day of absence.

Is my child too ill for school?

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they’re unwell. Here is some useful help from the NHS:

Is my child too ill for school? – NHS

Quick overview

This table lists the most likely childhood illnesses and indicates how long your child should be off. Whilst every attempt is made to keep this table up to date, the guidance referenced above will take precedence. If in doubt, contact the school office.

Illness	My child should be off until
Chicken Pox	at least 5 days from onset of rash and until all blisters have crusted over
Diarrhoea &/or Vomiting	48 hours after their last episode
Cold and flu-like illness(including COVID-19)	They no longer have a high temperature and feel well enough to attend.Follow the national guidance if they’ve tested positive for COVID-19
Impetigo	Their sores have crusted and healed, or 48 hours after they started antibiotics
Measles	4 days after the rash first appeared
Mumps	5 days after the swelling started
Scabies	They’ve had their first treatment
Scarlet Fever	24 hours after they started taking antibiotics
Whooping Cough	48 hours after they started taking antibiotics