It’s certainly that time of the year when we have various bugs and illness going around.

Please be mindful that if your child is ill with a temperature, they should be off school until it’s gone and they feel better, and any illness that involves D&V, the child should be 48 hours clear from the last bout.

There’s no requirement to take a Covid test but, if you do and you get a positive, children need to stay off school for 3 days (adults for 5 days).  Otherwise, children just need to stay off school until they feel better and feel well enough to return.

We’ve also received some guidance on Strep A from Public Health as it seems that this is going round too.  Please keep an eye on this illness developing into Scarlett Fever or IGAS, which are both serious and need medical attention.  

Let’s hope these bugs don’t spoil our run up to Christmas!

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-scarlet-fever-and-invasive-group-a-strep

Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious. Therefore, look out for symptoms in your child, which include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel. Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others.