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Original poster

Have all schools changed the 48hr rule?

49 replies

Binforky · 13/10/2019 09:14

My children's school sent home a letter a few months ago saying that not all cases of sick need to be kept off for 48 hours and stated that if a child has just eaten something that disagreed with them or they have been sick from over excitement then they can still come in that day and if they have been ill once the night before they will be fine.

Is it just me or does this seem ridiculous and probably the cause of more bugs going round the school? I know they are worried about their attendance record but this just seems ridiculous. Does anyone elses schools have these rules?

OP posts:
Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:15

It’s ridiculous
This is why when a bug is going round I keep my child off till it settles down as don’t want her catching it

Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:16

As in when she herself is well

Rocktheboot · 13/10/2019 09:16

I think that is sensible. our school hasn't changed though

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Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:17

It will only lead to parents lying and claiming that a child with a bug just was over excited

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 13/10/2019 09:17

It is ridiculous! Without tests, nobody can categorically say what’s caused sickness.

I’m a childminder and you wouldn’t believe the amount of parents that blame EVERYTHING on teething. And the amount of times I or my children have caught ‘teething’.

Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:18

The 48 hr rule should stay. It’s really important to limit the spread of stomach bugs

Littlefish · 13/10/2019 09:18

Definitely not the case in my school. We had to send 4 children home over two days last week as they vomited at school. Two of those parents tried to say it was due to excitement/eating too quickly/running around/coughing etc.

We have a strict 48 hour rule. Bugs can spread so quickly, particularly in Early Years.

Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:18

Ah yes ‘teething’ I hear that a lot too

FallenSky · 13/10/2019 09:23

@Andsoltbegins do you mean you keep your healthy child off of school every time there is a bug going around?!

tunnocksreturns2019 · 13/10/2019 09:25

There’s a sickness bug going round my DC’s school at the moment and they are most definitely sticking to 48 hour rule.

gigglingHyena · 13/10/2019 09:28

Gov uk guidance is still 48 hours after last bout, but it does seem more schools are choosing to ignore it for thier own policies.

We had a 3 hours of keeping food down policy! Last about 2 weeks before it was changed.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 13/10/2019 09:29

DD was once sent home from school when she had a coughing fit at lunch as she brought up some of the food she had just eaten, school knew she had bronchitis and still made me keep her off school for 48 hrs. So for cases like that yes, I agree that not all sickness is caused from a bug. Lots of parents lie anyway and send their darlings back before they ought to so it won't make a huge amount of difference anyway. Parents who would have followed the previous recommendations will probably still follow them now.

Andsoltbegins · 13/10/2019 09:30

Sort of ..... she has type 1 diabetes and sickness bugs at best get her hospitalised at worst could be fatal so if there’s a bug going round then I keep her off till it has settled

Grasspigeons · 13/10/2019 09:34

Its not ridiculous in that if your child is overexcited and sick they arent going to spread germs. However this is a nightmare to 'police'. There is zero incentive for a working parent to be honest if they think their child has had 12 clear hours and is ok. The number of children getting sick woukd increase

CalamityJune · 13/10/2019 09:37

I do think there are different causes of sickess though, and certainly sickness through overexcitement is different to sickness through a bug or food issues, which can be more difficult to discern.

What about morning sickness for instance? Should every women obey the 48 rule every time she experiences this in pregnancy?

Or if I over exert myself and vomit after a run (fat chance of that Grin ) should I also miss work for 48 hours?

I do agree that if in doubt, young children should be kept away from others but sometimes you do know what has caused it.

notso · 13/10/2019 09:39

Secondary has changed from 48 to 24, I'm not sure when.
Primary hasn't but most parents I know are wise to the 48 hour rule and never reveal the child has been sick, they just say has a temperature or similar.

lumpy76 · 13/10/2019 09:39

Utterly stupid to change the policy but shows the undue pressure on schools to get "bums on seats" (at all costs pretty much) to show that they don't have a truancy problem and on working parents who rely on school as childcare.

Mummyshark2018 · 13/10/2019 09:43

I think it's sensible. My dc had a very strong gag reflex as a toddler and a few occasions if she coughed hard after eating she would throw up. She couldn't go to nursery for 48 hrs when I knew it wasn't a bug.

CountFosco · 13/10/2019 09:44

DD2 has just had a sick bug and we were told 48h. This time she was clearly poorly so we were quite happy to do that (as we always do for her siblings) but when she was younger she vomited because she had an issues with gloopy textures and school refused to let her back even though we knew it was just the texture of custard. Really annoying to have a child home who is not at all poorly because school applies a blanket ban and it's always very clear. Sick bug: child vomits and looks ill and may vomit again. Texture vomit: child vomits and is immediately cheerful and healthy looking.

MissNorma · 13/10/2019 09:46

As others have said, some young children are very sicky.

My DD would be sick if she: ate too much, ate something she didn't like, was excited, had spent too long on a trampoline, drank too much milk, had a cold etc. If I kept her off school for 48 hours each time she'd have missed so much school. She grew out of it eventually.

DS on the other had has only been sick 3 times in his life and all 3 were bugs.

OhTheRoses · 13/10/2019 09:50

HP what on earth was she doing at school with bronchitis in the first place?

TBF if they are sick at school the bug is spread in any event. There must be scores of parents whose child is sick between 6pm and 6am who send the child to school.

The only time dd had a stomach bug she was sick multiple times and v unwell. In her teens we thought she had noro but was an allergic reaction to an enzyme in quorn. Hence why she was as right as rain in 12 hours.

It's all about common sense and judgement. Sadly not all parents and teachers are endowed with it.

missyB1 · 13/10/2019 09:51

HPandTheNeverEnding surely if your child had Bronchitis and coughed to the point of vomiting she shouldn't have been in school anyway? I'm not surprised the school called you. We had a child sent in last week with croup, she was coughing till she vomited as well, and home she was sent!

cauliflowersqueeze · 13/10/2019 09:52

At secondary we don’t have this rule.

Parents send them back when they think they’re better.

Quartz2208 · 13/10/2019 09:57

DS had a strong gag reflex when younger due to enlarged tonsils sometimes coughing or gagging on something caused him to throw up.
After 3 instances of this they now don’t have the 48 hr rule for him because they knew
He seems to have grown out of it now

Jellybeansincognito · 13/10/2019 10:00

Its ridiculous, some things such as norovirus can spread even after 48hrs.

You never really know 100% why your child has been sick so 🤷‍♀️

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