Headlice in class

[AbFabDaaaaahling]

If a child in a class was found to have a very severe case of headlice - so much so that headlice seen crawling on head by staff and onto the clothing of other children - what would you expect to happen?

From bitter experience, all that might happen is a letter to parents saying check for nits. I got my ds head shaved in primary to a grade 2/3 as nits don’t like to be that close to the head so he couldn’t catch them. There were a couple of mums whose kids habitually had nits and there was no other way of stopping nits coming to my family.

The child DOES need to be barred from school until the matter is treated and resolved. If the infestation is so heavy the lice are very visible then the parents apparently don't care about the child or the welfare of the rest of the school.

God alone knows what state the family home must be in. Obviously child neglect and a matter for Social Services.

It's a child protection issue. Very sad case in Scotland highlighted a severe case of headlice being a sign of neglect, in a very very sad case where a child died.

Where I am, the parents of the particular child are contacted, and a note is sent home to every parent (although the kids generally know who it is anyway)

Anyone with nits is asked to treat them before returning to school (this softened the blow when DS2 got them, and we had to treat his long, curly hair which took hours of combing and washing the oily stuff out, so he was off-school for the day)

Not true at all. The parent should be informed and if it isn’t then treated a referral should be made to SS.

At our school, a letter gets sent home, the child gets send home and isn't allowed back until they've had the first treatment. We often get letters home just before half term 😂

At one of my children's school, nothing bar the constant letters home. DC caught them so often off the same child we eventually moved them schools because they'd scratch their head bloody. The family never treated any of their children and had a child in almost every year group; there was no escaping this. I imagine child services were involved.

This child won't be the only one- lice don't work like that. And some children don't itch.

@Haruka "DC caught them so often off the same child we eventually moved them schools because they'd scratch their head bloody."

Surprised that combing every couple of days didn't get on top of them, to be honest. And it won't have just been the one child. But it's always good to have a scapegoat.

Funny how "scapegoats" were ok when it was Covid. It was ok to treat kids like disease vectors then.

@Haruka "Funny how "scapegoats" were ok when it was Covid. It was ok to treat kids like disease vectors then."
Eh? What a weird comment!

No its not Kids were treated terribly during Covid for something that least affected most of them yet can be left with head lice until the point they scratch themselves bloody as a PP has described and its "its just nits" with a nonchalent shrug.

@PeterJohnson I'm very surprised at this as clear guidance is they do not need to be off school?

One fell off my sons hair years ago and the teacher called me over and explained she’d seen something and then the standard letter was sent around. It was the start of a horrible relationship with the little critters. (Shudders). The magic not coms are amazing op but just make sure to use it with eg hedrin every week for a while to make sure you get them all x

As for Covid, I was a heavily pregnant teacher during lockdown so wasn't allowed in, but when I returned I was shocked that there were no masks, children were coming into school even when it was very likely they were positive. I have very elderly in-laws so it worried me greatly.

I would expect parents of the child to be told to treat said child before returning them to school ( on the quiet) and a letter or email sent to all parents to say head lice is doing the rounds please check your children’s hair and treat accordingly.
head lice is a fact of life! It’s gross but it is always going to happen at primary school when little heads are close together. They don’t live in dirty hair they like clean hair! It a part of parenting.some kids are more prone to catching it than others too unfortunately.

When my dc were in primary school we used to be able to buy a battery operated comb that used to collect the eggs like a nit comb but also electrocuted and killed the live nits ( very satisfying) can you not get them anymore? They were great!

I do know it's not permissable to request a child stays off school until the headlice/nits have been treated.

As the parent of a classmate in this scenario I wouldn't expect much tbh, maybe a letter home. All you can do is treat your own child and stay on top of it.

As others have said, for it to be that bad is a sign of neglect, so there may well be other things going on in the background that you're not aware of.

As a teacher, nits habitually come into class every autumn and winter (hat season!).

They aren't life threatening or dangerous to humans, but they are hard bloody hard to get rid of and a bit of a pain.

A letter is sent home and parents are reminded to be vigilant. Sadly, many people seem to think a treatment is enough to get rid of them, and don't change bedding, comb or get rid of soft toys. And so... the cycle of head lice begins.

Also, as a PP said, not all children itch or scratch. That is caused by an allergic reaction to the head lice biting the scalp, and varies from person to person.

There is no point in blaming people but I do always have a quiet word in the parents ears when I see them. And when I catch them (which happens!) or my DC, I always let the people around us know, as I refuse to buy into this secrecy as if it is a source of shame.

Buy nitty gritty combs, and get checking!

In another life, I would love to be a bit nurse or open a head lice clinic. I love squishing the little bastards and hearing them crack between my nails!

When I say get rid of soft toys, I forgot to write, to wash or freeze them, or remove them from the child's room for at least 5 days.

Severe infestations are obviously a cause for concern, but every child is different and some parents just don't look for it. It can quickly get out of hand. But I would be keeping an eye out anyway...

We managed to get rid of them every holiday. We did everything - combing, treating with various pesticides, dyeing - the lot. The child would go back to school, a few days later the lice were back. My child has ASD, excellent academically, but started being afraid of going back. My child scratched their scalp bloody every time they caught lice again. They have beautiful, curly hair, which is a nightmare to comb, but we did it daily.

The family were notorious for not treating their children, the lice were visibly crawling all over them, but school were powerless beyond sending letters home.

So we ended up moving our child schools. The lice stopped.

"Scapegoating", my arse.

We cannot ask for a child to be kept away from school. In fact we would authorise one days absence for treatment if the parent asked for it but any further days off would not be authorised. Having lice is not “illness”. Head lice are not dangerous, they are irritating and some may find them distressing but they do not spread disease and are nothing to do with hygiene.
My DD caught them at her school once, I treated her by combing with lots of cheap conditioner for two weeks - expensive chemicals are unnecessary but you do need to keep up combing for two weeks to break the reproductive cycle.

When a case is reported at my school we send out a standard letter but yes, some parents don’t see the point in treating, especially if their child doesn’t get itchy - some don’t. Best thing is to always keep long hair tied up at school and discourage head to head contact. Lice can’t survive off the human host, they can’t jump or fly.