What counts as a temperature to send a kid home from school?

[HarraKiri]

My child's school rang me today and said she had seemed hot and flushed and her temp was 37.5, and could I collect her.

I said no (I was working), but that if it got to 38, I would leave work and come, because I don't view 37.5 a raised enough temp to miss time off school. I always tell my kids that if we feel a "bit" unwell, or have a headache/cough etc etc, we go to school unless our temp is over 38, or there is Diarrhoea or vomiting.

Am I being unreasonable?! Do you think 37.5 is a high enough temp to collect a kid from school if they haven't been sick?

She seems totally fine to me. Still a bit of a raised temp, but plenty of energy, eating and drinking fine.

I agree, 37.5 is barely a fever. If they had that temperature and seemed actively unwell then I’d expect to be called but on its own with no other symptoms, no I wouldn’t want them being sent home.

I wouldn’t send a child home with anything below 38 degrees (we use tympanic thermometers) unless they were clearly unwell. “Hot & flushed” I’d give cool water and a quiet sit down for a while. Quite often they are only hot and flushed because of running around.

I thought 37.5 was pretty normal ?

Ironically the new government Facebook advert says not to keep them at home unless their temp is over 38!

We got a letter home from school today quoting Chris Witty as saying kids shouldn't be sent to school if 38 or over.
Maybe for them to have noticed an issue and taken her temp she seemed unwell to them though? I wouldn't have thought they'd have noticed otherwise

Was it just because of the temperature or was your child also feeling unwell?

The school I work at classify 38 and above.

So they only get sent home if it hits 38.

37.5 is in the normal range, they were being odd. Unless she was clearly very unwell? Temperature isn’t the only measure of wellness.

Odd

One of my children’s normal temperature is always between 37 and 37.5 (always has been) and so a fever would have to be over 38 for sure.

Oh this is validating! I was really questioning myself.

I left work early to pick her up at the end of the school day at 3:15 (she was booked into afterschool club til 6pm originally), and the teacher said quite pointedly "She's been very quiet today and her temp went up to 37.8 at some points". I just laughed it off and said "oh yes, I'm a mean mummy and the rule in our house is you to go school unless it's over 38! Early night tonight I think!"

She was wearing a fluffy onesie (world book day) with leggings & a top on under, so she could take the onesie off if she wanted, because she's only 4 and I thought it would be a pain to use the toilet all day if she had to keep taking the onesie off, so I did tell the school when they rang that she might be hot from the onesie, and that she'd slept very badly last night, so that might be why she seemed quieter than usual, but when I picked her up she said she ate all her lunch and played in the playground at lunch etc, so I don't think she would have been visibly unwell in any way.

Can schools not give calpol? We had a sister at my school who could give us paracetamol if needed and sick bay had beds for us to lie down.

I was going to say this. Guidelines are send them in so it's ridiculous to then send them home