Sickness absence and the 48 hour rule

Can my child attend school if ill?

If you are unsure whether or not your child should attend school with an illness, please refer to the NHS website - Is my child too ill for school?

48 Hour Sickness Rule

From time-to-time children are sick (vomit) either at home or at school. Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish between the causes, and therefore it is essential that the same rule of exclusion applies in all cases of vomiting or diarrhoea. This follows DfE and NHS guidance where the 48-hour rule requires children to stay home from school for 48 hours from the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea and Vomiting Exclusion

Opinion is often divided among parents about this rule – whilst most strictly follow the 48-hour exclusion to prevent outbreaks, some debate its use for isolated, non-infectious incidents. However, official UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidelines back the strict 48-hour exclusion.

Universal application

Schools are expected to enforce this rule regardless of whether you suspect the illness was a food issue, motion sickness, or a non-infectious cause, as it is impossible to tell whether or not this was caused by a number of different germs, including viruses, parasites and bacteria.

Infections can easily be spread from person to person (by unwashed hands), especially in children. Personal hygiene whilst ill must be very strict.

How this works:

The 48-hour countdown starts strictly after the very last time your child vomited or had diarrhoea. For example, if your child is sick on Monday at 1:00pm (or if they have been sick several times, or had one or more instances of diarrhoea and 1pm is the LAST episode), they cannot return to school until Wednesday at 1pm and only then if they feel well enough.

If your child is sick at school, we will ask you or your emergency contact to take your child home. They should not return for at least 48 hours as outlined above. We appreciate that this is inconvenient in many cases, and you may not believe your child is ill, but we do this in all cases and it should reduce the risk of infection for all children in school.

Please inform us of the exact time of the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea when communicating with the office or teachers so that we can advise on the exact exclusion period.

Thank you for your understanding and support.