Nursery World - In confidence

Early years workers can now find guidance on how to include children affected by HIV and AIDs. Sue Sillitoe reports There are just over 1,000 HIV-positive children under the age of 19 in the UK. The actual number of children affected by the condition because of family circumstances is not known, but can be estimated at around 10,000.

There are just over 1,000 HIV-positive children under the age of 19 in the UK. The actual number of children affected by the condition because of family circumstances is not known, but can be estimated at around 10,000.

For these children, particularly those who are HIV-positive, nursery and school can be one of two things: a wonderful place or a terrible place, depending on the attitude of the establishment and its staff to the situation they find themselves in.

An enormous amount of stigma is still attached to people with HIV. This, combined with ignorance about the condition, can make an HIV-positive child's life very difficult. Sadly, there's no reason why any child should suffer, as long as nursery and school staff understand what they are dealing with and have a policy in place to cope with the situation.

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