Specific policy – Sickness and Exclusion at HIK
Illness and School Exclusion Times at HIK
| Types of illness | Requested period to be kept away from our school |
| Chickenpox | Five days from the start of skin eruption |
| Conjunctivitis | Exclude until discharge from eyes has stopped (unless doctor has diagnosed non-infectious conjunctivitis) |
| Cryptosporidiosis (the infection in humans and animals with Cryptosporidium spp., which are protozoan, obligate intracellular parasites) | 48 hours from the last episode of diarrhoea |
| Diarrhoea and/or vomiting | 48 hours from last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting |
| Diphtheria (an acute upper respiratory tract infection, but sometimes it infects the skin) | Exclusion until medical certificate of recovery is received following at least two negative throat swabs (the first not less than 24 hours after finishing a course of antibiotics and the next 48 hours later) |
| E. coli O157 VTEC (a bacterium (germ)Typhoid [and paratyphoid] (enteric fever) | 48 hours from the last episode of diarrhoea Until approval return has been given by the child’s doctor |
| Food poisoning | Exclude until well – no vomiting or diarrhoea for 24 hours |
| German measles (rubella)* | Six days from onset of rash |
| Hand, foot and mouth | Three to five days OR until all blisters are dry |
| Hepatitis A* | Exclude until seven days after onset of jaundice (or seven days after symptom onset if no jaundice) |
| Impetigo (a highly contagious skin infection which causes sores and blisters. It’s very common and affects mainly children) | Until lesions are crusted and healed, OR 48 hours after commencing antibiotic treatment |
| Influenza and influenza-like illnesses | Exclude until well |
| Leprosy | Exclude until approval to return has been given by an appropriate health authority |
| Measles | Four days from onset of rash |
| Meningitis due to other bacteria | Until recovered |
| Meningococcal meningitis*/ septicaemia* (a bacterial form of meningitis, a serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) | Until recovered |
| Mumps | Exclude child for nine days after onset of swelling |
| Ringworm/tinea Worms | Exclude until the day after appropriate treatment has commenced Exclude if diarrhoea present |
| Scabies (a contagious skin condition caused by tiny mites which burrow into the skin = benh ghe) | Child can return after first treatment |
| Scarlet fever (a bacterial illness that causes a distinctive pink-red rash) Streptococcal sore throat (including scarlet fever) | Child can return 24 hours after commencing appropriate antibiotic treatment |
| Shingles (an infection of a nerve area caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It causes pain and a rash along a band of skin supplied by the affected nerve) | Exclude only if rash is weeping and cannot be covered |
| Tuberculosis | Until medical certificate is produced from appropriate health authority |
| Whooping cough (pertussis) | Until 5 days after starting antibiotic treatment, or for 21 days from the onset of coughing |
Source: Health Protection Agency and various British kindergartens and nurseries
