To think the school should follow the rules on sickness?!

[MrsGinnyPotter]

Dd's primary school staff chop and change their mind about how long you have to off with S+D. Some office staff say 24 hours and some say 48 (depends who you speak to). I checked their policy and it's 48 hours... I have no idea why they don't all follow this.
Child in Dd's class was sick Monday afternoon and sent home. Policy says 48 hours after last S/D so she shouldn't have been in school before Thursday. She was back Wednesday as office told her 24 hours was fine. Now over half the class have had it... I'm not saying it's this child's fault as it's not at all but if the office staff all followed the same rules, maybe these things wouldn't spread so much!

AIBU? I have raised it casually before but am wondering whether I direct a letter to the Head about it and ask for clarification.

You don't need clarification if you know it is 48 hours. What you need to do is complain.

Half the class have it because the bug was spread when the child vomitted in the classroom on that first day. It has nothing to do with when they returned to school. The bug is in the sick and poo. Gross but true. It either wasn't cleaned up properly or it's just one of those things.

It's pointless anyway. A lot (but not all) parents who work can't afford to be off, so either lie about what the dc have, or don't adhere to the 48 hour rule.

The worst person I know for doing this is a headteacher, who should know better.

48 hrs from last symptoms. Problem is, parents feel under pressure to get back to work. if you have a child that is sick and take 2 days off, then your other child gets it and you take another 2 off, then you get it yourself and so another 2 days. It's a nightmare!

chilly you can be contagious 48 hrs after being sick. Check NHS website.

This needs addressing with the school - my school the policy is 24 hours from the last bout so really it won't have been that child unless they had it at school before that - I.e when they were sent home X

As a pregnant teacher, this is really beginning to grate on me! I know that it is difficult for parents because they have pressures at work etc, but I am catching any bug going and it is difficult enough to cope with the morning sickness so when parents come to me at lining up time in the morning saying "my child was sick in the night but I brought her because she wanted to come" it makes me really angry. What about the rest of the class that could catch it? what about me when I catch it??

We've had exactly this this week. Maybe it's the same school? I had to take a day off, and get my parents to help the following day when one child who was sick earlier in the day, was collected at normal home time and then was back in the very next day.

Makes me cross.

The policy in our school is 48hrs is they are repeated sick but no time off if they were just sick once! The headteacher hates her attendance going down. What it actually means is that all the working parents claim their child was just sick because they ate too much/got over excited etc and send them back in straight away and then children like my ds who don't have a great immune system end up taking at least a week off. I know it's hard when you have to work but dp and I both work and it's a juggle at times but sending an ill child to school is not worth it

There is so much ignorance about how tummy bugs are spread it is just untrue. The biggest reason that they spread like wildfire in schools is because children don't wash their hands properly after going to the toilet. They can also be spread through droplets when someone is actually sick. The reality is that you are infectious for far more than 48 hours but people see this as 'safe' when the reality is that they go to the toilet then are spreading it round the classroom yuck. It would be much more effective to stop the spread through improved hygiene than exclusion and people getting het up over 24/ 48 hours.

I do not understand the 48 hour rule. What happens after 48 hours?
The best thing is to ensure good hand washing and hope for the best.......I think.

Probably the office staff are sick to the teeth of parents arguing that their child wasn't ill but over excited. Perhaps the Head hides in the office when parents are swearing at staff. Perhaps some parents just dump their children and run and don't answer the phone when you ring. Perhaps they are fed up with superior parents telling them what important jobs they have so can't possibly collect their child.

Perhaps the office staff are human and make a mistake, easy to do when you are paid for six hours a day but usually work nine without a break to get all of your work done.
Easier sometimes to just give in?
Can you guess where I work?

Having worked in schools I would say they go hand in hand and the schools that stick to the 24/48 hrs are also the ones that encourage better hygiene and see less cases of d&v, imo anyway and obviously you can't avoid every case.

Fariyliz I offer you my sympathies, every school I have worked in would fall apart without the office staff, you really do keep the whole school going!

I think it's also about toilet cleaning as well as handwashing. Tbh if you have a bug for at least 24 hrs you feel awful anyway.

Glad that schools are starting to turn the corner on the hygeine aspect. When I last worked in one they were cleaned once a day.