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Infectious illness and attendance: guidance and parent factsheet

Be clear on the guidance for specific infectious diseases and understand when a pupil should be absent from school. Share our factsheet with parents and carers so they know how long their child should be away from school.

Last reviewed on 2 January 2025
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 49249
Contents
  1. Mild illness and attendance
  2. Follow government ‘exclusion’ guidance for infectious illnesses
  3. Controlling outbreaks of infectious illness
  4. Educate parents/carers about when to keep their child off school
  5. Encourage parents/carers to get their child vaccinated
Downloads
KeyDoc: parent factsheet - Is my child too ill for school?
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Download
KeyDoc: letter to parents/carers - immunisation
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Mild illness and attendance

The DfE recommends that parents/carers can send their child to school if they have a mild respiratory illness. This includes general cold symptoms such as a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat.

However, a child shouldn’t be sent to school if they have a temperature of 38°C or above.

Follow government ‘exclusion’ guidance for infectious illnesses

Please note: this guidance uses the term ‘exclusion’ in a different sense to an educational exclusion.

The guidance linked above also includes information about steps you can take to limit the spread of specific infections and when you should get support from your local UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) health protection team (HPT). For some infections, your HPT might advise that a pupil should remain away from school for a longer period of

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