is it right to be told how long your child should be on the sick from school.

Well that is what 5 local councils in south Wales are possessing to do, by producing a leaflet that spells out how long your child, should be on off school if they are ill, is this the nanny state gone mad.

 

A report yesterday sated the following.

 

Parents in south Wales have been told that children suffering from tonsillitis or glandular fever are still expected to go to school.

A health guide subtitled Miss School, Miss Out, produced by a partnership of five local authorities, tells parents that pupils with a wide range of ailments, also including headlice, conjunctivitis, threadworm and hand, foot and mouth disease, are recommended not to take time off.

The same advice applies to children with the slapped cheek virus, though the booklet says they should “keep away from vulnerable children and pregnant females”.

Pupils with chickenpox, whooping cough or mumps are recommended to take five days off, while those with measles should take four days off, according to the booklet, which suggests that parents with an ill child seek advice from NHS Direct Wales or consult their GP.

The advice, issued by county councils including Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, comes amid pressure placed on schools and local authorities by Estyn, the Welsh school inspectorate, to improve attendance.

 

It says that absenteeism is a concern in nearly a third of Welsh secondary schools, with nearly three-fifths of all absences due to illness in 2012-2013.

But parents have reacted with anger to the advice, arguing that they are best placed to judge their child’s ability to attend school.

 

A father of two from Cardiff, told Wales Online: “I thought it was a joke. I think as parents we are responsible enough to know when and for how long we should keep our children away from school.”

 

Pauline Jarman, a governor at two schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the local authorities in the consortium that produced the guide, said she was “inclined to trust the judgment of the parent or guardian.

 

Children told: no time off school for tonsillitis or glandular fever.

 

Kids are required to attend if they suffer from a range of childhood complaints such as conjunctivitis, head lice and threadworm.

 

And they should spend no more than four days away from school for measles and take no more than five days for chicken pox, whooping cough and mumps.

 

For chickenpox, parents are told to keep children off schools for 'five days from onset of rash', adding: "Keep away from vulnerable children and pregnant females."

 

Children with mumps should be kept off for 'five days after onset of swelling', although parents are told it is 'preventable by vaccination'.

 

These Guidelines are poppy cock, I would trust my GP any day.

 

Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf Councils are 3 of the councils who had this report and leaflet produced and what cost to the tax payer.