Schools Requesting Medical Information

Following the Governments plans to re-open certain parts of Education, some schools are asking parents to contact their GP for medical evidence to clarify if their child can return to school in early June, if schools re-open.

This interpretation that GPs need to assess each child that is clinically vulnerable for safe return to school is not appropriate and GPs should not be asked to assess a child’s risk associated with returning to school.

If parents have received a letter to say their child is clinically extremely vulnerable and needs to follow shielding guidelines then they should not be attending school if they re-open on June 1st. The shielding guidelines currently state that patients should shield until June 30th at which point the shielding period will be reviewed.

If a parent has not received a letter but their child has a condition identified as making them more clinically vulnerable then they should be following the government advice on strict social distancing. This should be sufficient information for the school and parents to make an informed decision as to whether the child can safely attend school.

If a child, young person or a staff member lives with someone who is clinically vulnerable (but not clinically extremely vulnerable), including those who are pregnant, they can attend their education or childcare setting and no medical assessment should be required.

If a child, young person or staff member lives in a household with someone who is extremely clinically vulnerable, it is advised they only attend an education or childcare setting if stringent social distancing can be adhered to and, in the case of children, they are able to understand and follow those instructions. This may not be possible for very young children and older children without the capacity to adhere to the instructions on social distancing. If stringent social distancing cannot be adhered to, we do not expect those individuals to attend.

Again, this is a decision to be made between the parent and school and no medical advice should be required.