'Excluded' for nits - is this acceptable?

[weblette]

Posting on behalf of a friend although ds3 has been 'affected' too.

Ds3's yr1 has a problem with nits - or parents not treating...
Goodness knows I know about it, despite combing all of my four every week, he always has a new adult or five on a Sunday night.

Friend was called by school on Thursday am - "she has nits, come and collect her" - told to take her home for the day. Friend had combed dd at the weekend, cleared a few so head was nitless but now had several large adults. Luckily she wasn't working so took dd home, wet combed, applied lotions, head nit-free. However her dd had to stay at home for the day.

Next morning, call from school - we've found a nit in her fringe, come and collect her again. Not withstanding the fact that adults don't just drop out of a child's head and she had no others, was any of this legal?

With 4 dcs I understand completely how utterly frustrating it is to have untreated nits in a year group. I've lost count of the the hours wasted tbh...

However to me it sounds so very dodgy on so many fronts - there is nothing on the school website about sending a child home if they have nits. How can they justify a child losing a day's education on that basis?

Friend is fuming and wants to know how best to approach the school about this. Please don't say 'check for nits more regularly', we all do atm...

[prh47bridge]

I am not being silly.

The school referred to in the OP was apparently taking the child out of lessons and insisting that they be taken home. Not requesting, insisting. We have heard from someone working at another school that has adopted the same policy. Like it or not that meets the legal definition of an exclusion - the child is being excluded from lessons and the parents are being told to remove their child from school property. It is well established that sending children home in this way because they have nits is illegal.

It is perfectly valid for a school to request that parents take a child home for treatment. However, once the school removes the child from class and insists that the parents collect the child immediately they have crossed a line and are acting illegally.

[Lemonsole]

I can't believe the posters who think that commercial products such as Hedrin are as important as effective combing. They aren't. We've never bought anything more than a Nitty Gritty comb and lots of conditioner. We've had visitors a few times - but have always got rid of them through vigilant combing on alternate days for a fortnight. I think that glooping on a gel can make users complacent that they have done enough.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

They are asking a parent to collect a child to meet that child's needs and improve the child's comfort level just the same as they do with other common childhood illnesses that also have no required exclusion time

It would be quite entertaining to see what happens if you refuse.

You can't really state its an exclusion as fact unless you do refuse and they then ramp it up to an actual exclusion.

Challenge the policy or ask them to put in writing that its a formal exclusion. Or better still treat your children correctly learn about the lifecycle of nits and lice take preventative steps and challenge the policy.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Same could be said for hand foot and mouth, it has no required exclusion time but if the school called saying your child was itchy and uncomfortable can you collect you would have to be pretty harsh to say "no you can't exclude my child for that"

[Sidge]

Headlice aren't an illness. They aren't a public health problem. They aren't an infection, don't cause sickness and aren't considered a health risk by the HPA Infection Control Advice from the HPA

They are considered socially unacceptable and in some children (those that are allergic to their saliva) can cause itching. Chemicals and even conditioner are not needed - it is the combing that is crucial (but conditioner does make hair easier to wet comb).

There is a big difference between asking parents/guardians to treat infested children and asking them to remove them from an educational setting until they are lice free. The latter is illegal and contravenes public health guidance for schools and childcare settings. A school can ask parents to keep their children out of school if head lice are present but they have no right to do so and no authority to insist on it.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

But they can be extremely uncomfortable irritating and distracting for anybody

[VerySmallSqueak]

I agree Lemon.

I think maybe some people think that if you don't use Hedrin or the likes,you haven't treated them.

But standing them for an extremely thorough combing with a nitty gritty and conditioner has the same effect.

It's still treating them and either way the hair needs combing through every couple of days for a while after to get rid of the eggs.

It's the lack of frequency and consistency that's the problem.

FWIW I think a child should not attend school until treated,and the school should be allowed to make an individual childs parents aware if their child has lice,so they can treat them.

[Sidge]

Well yes sock, nobody is denying they are unpleasant and unwanted but they are not grounds for denying a child education.

They are an "occupational hazard" of having a primary aged child! My DD3 has had repeated infestations over the last two years and whilst I comb her regularly and it drives me bananas that other parents don't comb/treat their children I would refuse to have MY child removed from school because of the inactivity of others.

Professionally I used to spend a lot of time and energy in a previous role educating and informing about head lice, and liaising between schools and parents of those children persistently infested.

[dreamingbohemian]

Has anyone else had an itchy head all day? I need to stop reading these threads!

Anyway I had a looky to see what current policy is where I come from (New York) and it's interesting -- wonder whether you all think....


There is now a “no head lice” policy for all NYC public schools, but no longer a “no nit” policy. Students found to have live head lice will be excluded from school and not allowed to return until they are lice-free. Students will be reexamined in 14 days to confirm that they have remained lice-free. Students with nits and no evidence of live head lice will not be excluded from school.

Studies have shown that school-wide screenings for nits are time consuming, costly, and ineffective. Nits are not equivalent to head lice and should not result in school exclusion or a school-wide surveillance initiative. On the other hand, “no head lice” policies are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and the National Association of School Nurses. Similar policies have been adopted successfully by school systems throughout the country.

[TheWomanTheyCallJayne]

Don't nits just hatch into lice within hours anyway?

I have noticed over here, and I do it too, that we tend to say nits to cover all stages of lice not just the eggs stage. I think it comes from having a nit nurse when we were young

[TheWomanTheyCallJayne]

Sorry days not hours. It's about a week isn't it. I would be very suspect that a child would have one without the other.

[tallulah]

When my eldest 4 were all at primary together DC3 got headlice again and again and again, but none of the others did. I don't know whether that was down to hair type/ blood type or someone in his class.

He went to a prep school for Y3 to Y6 and didn't get them at all. The boys all carried combs and combed their hair many times a day so I wonder whether that would stop lice taking hold?

Then he went to an all-boys grammar in Y7 and got them again ! He continued to get them regularly until he left school, yet none of his siblings ever did. Most odd. The worst thing was after he'd been holding his baby sister and I looked down and this enormous louse was delicately picking its way across the top of her head. Yuck yuck yuck.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

My daughter had persistent headlice all over the summer holidays and a bit into term.

Nothing got rid of them. I combed every bloody day. I might not have been that good at the beginning but believe me when this is your every evening you are motivated to be thorough.

In the end I figured out that the nitty gritty comb, though the best on the market wasn't fine enough and the eggs remained stuck.

Eventually I disposed of the come, got a tiny torch and went through her hair strand by bloody strand picking the eggs off with my nails. But my eye sight is excellent and once had a voluntary job identifying the 4mil ballbearings in boxes of what were supposed to be 5mil (don't ask!)

Anyway, my point is, sometimes, for some kids, the products and methods just don't work.

[shebird]

Has anyone had success with preventative sprays and shampoos or are they are just a gimmick? Also heard that putting hairspray or gel onto hair when tied up makes life tricky for the little pests.

Can't stop scratching after reading this. I'm off to use hair straighteners on max heat

[StarlightMcKenzie]

I now put a drop of teatree oil on to dd's hair and lather it in with the shampoo.

No idea if it works tbh, but she's been clear now for about 3 weeks.

But she is absolutely all over the kids in her reception class as she is extremely tactile, so expect them back.

[VerySmallSqueak]

shebird I was almost evangelical about tea tree sprays and lavender oil.

Till we got nits.

[BurberryQ]

wine or cider vinegar as a final rinse, left on and then the hair blow dried is a good weapon......do it on a Friday though as your children will smell like a chip shop.

[Lamu]

I think it's unfortunate that parents don't take lice seriously, therefore allowing persistent infestation in schools. However I'm not convinced that a child should be excluded for having them.

Dd 2 picked them up last month. Obviously she's not in school, so I hadn't counted on her having them this early. She occasionally goes to playgroups so that's the only place I can think she picked them up from.

Someone up thread said about nits preferring particular type of hair. Dd is mixed race with curly hair and had a head full. And she even passed it on to me, I have afro hair.

[wheresthebeach]

Well... I'm pleased the school is taking a strong stand. We've had the same issue for years and something needs to be done to get it sorted. I really don't understand why people leave their kids infested but by doing so they affect everyone else.

[notso]

Head lice don't drown even in Vaseline. They can survive under water for upto 14 hours. They are able to go into a dormant state and revive when they get the chance.

[BurberryQ]

why on earth would anyone put vaseline on their children's hair
apparently a comb through with strong alcohol eg vodka works.....

[VikingLady]

Also, you can't overlook the possibility that a child is catching them from a parent or other adult. Very few adults regularly check and treat themselves!

DH and I both had nits twice, years before DD was born. In the end we tracked them back to one of DH's friends he played pool with. They did a manly hug with back thump at the end of the night. Said friend won't treat himself properly as its too much hassle (long curly hair and beard) and just says he's done it (his GF told us). He doesn't hug him any more

If DD gets nits I would assume we had them too!