The health and well-being of our entire school community are our top priority. To prevent the spread of illness, we must strictly enforce our exclusion policy following a child experiencing an episode of vomiting or diarrhoea.

We are writing to clarify the "48-Hour Rule," as correct adherence is essential for both public health and accurate attendance records.

The Mandatory 48-Hour Exclusion Period

If your child experiences vomiting, they must be kept at home for a full 48 hours.

Crucially, this 48-hour period must be calculated from the moment of the last instance of vomiting.

For example, if your child vomits at 8:00 AM on Monday, but then again at 1:00 PM on Monday, the 48-hour countdown begins from 1:00 PM on Monday, meaning they cannot return until 1:00 PM on Wednesday.

Returning to School After Exclusion

If your child completes the full 48-hour exclusion period during the school day, they are welcome to return under the following terms:

  • If the 48-hour window elapses during the morning session, the child should return after lunch for the start of the afternoon session. This allows for a necessary recovery and transition period.

Attendance Marking Policy

We ask you to please respect the 48-hour period and the return schedule outlined above. This is vital because of strict attendance marking regulations:

  • If a child is brought into school during a morning session before the full 48 hours is complete, or if they are returned mid-morning (missing the official morning registration):

    • They will be marked as Late (L mark) or, if the register has been formally closed, as an Unauthorised Absence (O mark) for that entire morning session.

    • The school cannot retrospectively change this mark to an authorised illness absence mark, as the child has physically attended school for part of the session.

Thank you for your cooperation in protecting the health of all children and staff by adhering to this policy.