Advice for parents
Below, please find a table, taken from the Health Prevention Agency website, of common illness and required exclusion periods from school.
NB – for sickness and diarrhoea, children must not return to school unless clear for 48 hours from the last episode.
| Infection or complaint | Recommended period to be kept away from school, nursery or childminders |
| Athlete’s foot | None |
| Chickenpox | Until all vesicles have crusted over |
| Cold sores, (Herpes simplex) | None |
| German measles (rubella)* | Four days from onset of rash |
| Hand, foot and mouth | None |
| Impetigo | Until lesions are crusted and healed, or 48 hours after starting antibiotic treatment |
| Measles* | Four days from onset of rash |
| Molluscum contagiosum | None |
| Ringworm | Exclusion not usually required |
| Roseola (infantum) | None |
| Scabies | Child can return after first treatment |
| Scarlet fever* | Child can return 24 hours after starting appropriate antibiotic treatment |
|
Slapped cheek/fifth disease. Parvovirus B19 |
None (once rash has developed) |
| Shingles | Exclude only if rash is weeping and cannot be covered |
| Warts and verrucae | None |
| Diarrhoea and/or vomiting | 48 hours from last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting |
| E. coli O157 VTEC Typhoid* [and paratyphoid*] (enteric fever) Shigella (dysentery) | Should be excluded for 48 hours from the last episode of diarrhoea. Further exclusion may be required for some children until they are no longer excreting |
| Cryptosporidiosis | Exclude for 48 hours from the last episode of diarrhoea |
| Flu (influenza) | Until recovered |
| Tuberculosis* | Always consult your local PHE centre |
| Whooping cough* (pertussis) | Five days from starting antibiotic treatment, or 21 days from onset of illness if no antibiotic treatment |
| Conjunctivitis | None |
| Diphtheria * | Exclusion is essential. Always consult with your local HPT |
| Glandular fever | None |
| Head lice | None |
| Hepatitis A* | Exclude until seven days after onset of jaundice (or seven days after symptom onset if no jaundice) |
| Hepatitis B*, C*, HIV/AIDS | None |
| Meningococcal meningitis*/ septicaemia* | Until recovered |
| Meningitis* due to other bacteria | Until recovered |
| Meningitis viral* | None |
| MRSA | None |
| Mumps* | Exclude child for five days after onset of swelling |
| Threadworms | None |
| Tonsillitis | None |