A nursery successfully relaxed its strict sickness policy on conjunctivitis after a parent – who happened to be a GP – campaigned to highlight that sending infected children home is not necessary.
Guidance from Public Health England (PHE) states that sending children home is not needed and recommends antibiotics only in severe cases.
After his own toddler was sent home with the infection by the University of Birmingham’s nursery, Dr Sam Finnikin embarked on a research project, which found a large proportion of settings and prescribers were not following PHE’s advice (see box).
Dr Finnikin, a father of twins, a practising GP and researcher at the university, said the setting also required his daughter to be treated with antibiotics before she was allowed to return.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
