Exclusion Procedure For Illness/Communicable Disease

We appreciate the fact that all children are ill at time and that parents/carers need to still attend work. However, we are unable to accept sick children in the nursery.

The following are guidelines for the minimum period of exclusion for a range of illnesses:

• Antibiotics prescribed- first day at home.
• Temperature- if sent home ill, child must be off for 24 hours.
• Vomiting- if sent home ill, child must be off for 24 hours from last bout of sickness.
• Conjunctivitis- keep at home for a minimum of 1 day; longer if eyes are still weeping. If returning within 5 days of exclusion chid must be on medication.
• Diarrhoea- 24 hours from last bout or until clear nappies.
• Chicken pox- 7 days from appearance of rash and spots must be scabbed over.
• Gastro-enteritis, food poisoning, salmonellosis and dysentery- 24 hours until clear nappies or for notifiable diseases, until advised by the relevant public health official.
• Infective hepatitis- 7 days from onset of jaundice.
• Measles- 7 days from appearance of rash.
• Meningococcal infection- until recovered from the illness.
• Mumps- until the swelling has subsided and in no case less than 7 days from onset of illness.
• Pertussis (whooping cough)- 21 days from onset of paroxysmal cough.
• Poliomyelitis- until declared free from infection by the appropriate public health official.
• Scarlet fever and streptococcal infection of the throat- until appropriate medical treatment has been given and in no case for less than 3 days from the start of treatment.
• Tuberculosis- until declared free from infection by the appropriate public health official.
• Typhoid fever- until declared free from infection by the appropriate public health official.
• Impetigo- until the skin is healed.
• Pediculosis (lice)- until appropriate treatment has been given.
• Plantar warts- no exclusion, should be treated and covered.
• Ringworm of scalp- until cured.
• Ringworm of body- seldom necessary to exclude provided treatment is being given.
• Scabies- no need to be excluded once appropriate treatment has been given.