The UK Health Security
Agency has published guidance on health protection in
children and young people settings, including education
It is a practical guide for staff on managing cases of infectious
diseases in children and young people settings, including
education.
Published 18 September 2017
Last updated 21 March 2026 — See all updates
Documents
Information for education
settings in England regarding the meningococcal disease
outbreak
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What infections are, how they
are transmitted and those at higher risk of
infection
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Preventing and controlling
infections
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Supporting immunisation
programmes
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Managing outbreaks and
incidents
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Managing specific infectious
diseases: A to Z
Ref: GOV-16865
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Specific settings and
populations: additional health protection
considerations
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Children and young people
settings: tools and resources
Ref: GOV-16865
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Details
Attending face-to-face education or childcare is hugely important
for children and young people's health and their future.
This guidance has been updated to provide a practical guide for
staff in children and young people settings, including education,
those working in children and young people's social care and
across the secure estate, on managing a range of infections, and
minimising disruption. This includes advice on managing
coronavirus (COVID-19) and other infections. Further and higher
education providers should also take note of this guidance.
Within the tools and resources, there is an exclusion
table with guidance to indicate the time period an
individual should not attend a setting to reduce the risk of
transmission during the infectious stage.
While this guidance may be of use to all children and young
people settings, it is recognised that there are some differences
for residential children's homes and secure settings, which means
that aspects of this guidance may not be applicable. This
guidance should be used alongside the emergency planning and
response for education, childcare, and children's social care
settings published in April 2022.
This guidance is not intended to be used as a tool for the
diagnosis of infections. The information is designed for use by
staff members in children and young people settings (for example
teachers, managers, teaching assistants, and cleaners) to prevent
and respond to infection, incidents and outbreaks.
For additional information about what infections are and why they
can be prevented, access the Preventing
and managing infections in childcare and pre-school online
course.
To complement the guidance and support its implementation, we
recommend educating children and young people on hygiene, germs
(microbes), vaccination, and antibiotics. A range of interactive
lesson plans for ages 3 to 16 have been developed by the UK
Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with teachers and are available
for free at e-Bug.eu. These are
designed to promote healthy behaviours among students and provide
additional support and guidance to educators, to contribute to
the prevention of infections in the school setting.
To provide feedback on this guidance, please send details
to HealthEquityInclusionHealth@ukhsa.gov.uk
