Nursery and temperature

[confuseddotcomma]

I wonder if I could ask other parents about current policies at nursery?

Our nursery is checking temperatures multiple times a day. It emerged this week that if a child has a high temperature the nursery doesn't immediately act on it - instead they wait and check it again 10 minutes later, and they only require children to go home, isolate, and have a test if they have three high readings in a row.

This seems a bit risky to me - surely all high temperatures need a test? Or is there some special nursery guidance that I'm not aware of?

Blimey, that’s a big extreme of your nursery. I have daughters in two different ones & neither check temperatures at all (unless a child is a feeling particularly hot obviously).

I think it’s fairly sensible of them. Forehead Thermometers aren’t overly accurate & I’d say a child has been running around or has too many layers on etc, it may make them run quite hot. Waiting 10 mins while the child sits quietly and perhaps removing a jumper etc, will confirm if the temp is a true reading.

I do the same at home, young children are far more prone to random spikes in temp. A temp for 10 mins & then not again does not indicate an infection. Just their bodies not regulating their temps as well as an older child or grown up!

I think it sounds reasonable to wait and test again. At my office they test you when you arrive, if it’s high you are isolated in a room, and tested again in 10 mins. If that’s high, you are sent home.

At DD’s nursery I’m not aware that they specifically check temps throughout the day. I think they just notice if a child feels warm - she’s in the baby room so obviously quite close contact is required and they test if the child feels warm, seems unwell, looks unwell etc. The same reasons I would check for a temp at home I think. And I think they also test a couple of times before sending a child home.

Running about will raise a temperature, so it makes sense to do it again just to check.