Resources for early years practitioners

Winter planning for schools and early years settings - preventing the spread of infections

The winter planning guidance covers key messages and information relating to: 

• Vaccinations (COVID-19, Flu and Measles) 
• Good hygiene practice 
• Responding to winter infections (cases and outbreaks)
• Mild illness protocol (when and when not to send children home)
• Additional resources

Parents urged to check children's MMR vaccine records following rise in measles cases in London

Measles spreads very easily and is serious. It can lead to complications that require a stay in hospital and on rare occasions can cause lifelong disability or death. Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provides lifelong protection. It is never too late to get vaccinated. 

• Read a measles pack for educational settings which provides additional information and letters for parents
• Read a presentation about Measles by Hackney and City Public Health team
• See information on catch up MMR vaccination clinics
• If you have a suspected or confirmed case / cases of measles in your setting contact the London Region Health Protection Team on: 
  020 3837 7084 (option 0, then option 2) or london.region@ukhsa.gov.uk

Any parents who are unsure whether their child is up to date with their immunisations can check their child's red book or speak to a nurse practitioner at their GP Practice. 

*NEW* Managing Scarlet Fever and Strep A in childcare and educational settings

• See the UKHSA information pack

Important health protection resources for your setting

• Health protection in schools and other childcare facilities (GOV.UK)
• Good ventilation guidance
• Resources to support handwashing
• Ventilation to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19
• E-Bug lesson plans for early years - beat the bugs

Immunisations (health protection)

• Flu campaign poster
• MMR campaign poster
• Starting nursery immunisations reminder - Public Health England postcard
• Getting a flu or COVID-19 vaccination (Hackney Council)
• Parent vaccine confidence video

Advice for parents managing childhood illnesses and accident prevention

• Keeping kids safe - ROSPA resources
• Safe sleep resources (reducing sudden infant death syndrome risk)

General advice

• Simple signposting to better health and wellbeing - Making Every Contact Count

Reporting infections, including COVID-19

Hackney Education and Public Health are no longer asking schools and settings to routinely report suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 to us.

There will be some situations where you may need to contact your local UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Health Protection Team (HPT). You can find your local HPT by using the postcode look-up.

Advice on when and when not to contact the HPT is included for each disease.

You should contact the relevant UKHSA HPT for advice if you are concerned and/or have seen:

• a higher than previously experienced and/or rapidly increasing number of staff or student absences due to the same infection
• evidence of severe disease due to an infection, for example if a child, young person or staff member is admitted to hospital
• more than one infection circulating in the same group of children, young people and staff for example chicken pox and scarlet fever
• an outbreak or serious or unusual illness - see the guidance for examples

If you do need to contact your HPT, you should prepare information in advance to help them to support you. You can contact your welfare standards officer if you have further questions/queries.