In the guidance, children's secretary Ed Balls said, 'Given the mildnessof the virus, the expert medical advice is that there is no good reasonfor schools to remain closed after the summer holiday. We thereforeexpect all schools and early years and childcare settings in England toreopen as planned at the beginning of the new term.
'However, it is still essential that adults or children with flu-likesymptoms stay away until they are free of those symptoms.'
The guidance also flags up new swine flu NHS resources for nurseries andschools to reinforce the importance of good hygiene.
The resources, available to download free on Teachernet, includehandwashing posters, a comic strip entitled Dirty Bertie (pictured) forchildren to read in class or take home and a nursery rhyme, 'Catch It,Bin It, Kill It'.
The guidance comes after news that 14 projects to study the spread ofswine flu and how to control it have been fast-tracked by the NationalInstitute for Health Research for the Department of Health.
One of the projects will measure how contagious swine flu is and look atwhether closing schools would help reduce the spread of the virus.
Another project aims to determine which vaccine is most effective forchildren aged six months to 12 years.
The studies began last week and results are expected by the end of theyear.
Further information
www.teachernet.gov.uk/educationoverview/flupandemic/flupandemicinfo
with the lines:
'I will catch those germs when I "ATICHOO!",
I will catch those germs in my tissue
Catch It and Bin It to Kill It, that's it!
there're no germs on us!
Put the tissue into a bin, germs won't get out once they are in'.
