Parents need advice from the Government on managing children’s illnesses without so often keeping them off school or going to a GP, senior MPs said on Thursday.
The chairmen of the Commons Education Committee and Health and Social Care Committee have written to ministers calling for such action.
They believe there is a need for a public awareness campaign to reassure parents that it is sometimes appropriate to send children to school with a mild illness, and to administer self-care rather than seeking help from a family doctor.
The joint letter from Robin Walker, chairman of the Education Committee, and Steve Brine, who heads the Health and Social Care Committee, to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan argues that such a campaign could help to tackle the “crisis” of school absenteeism and ease pressure on GPs.
School absenteeism is still at a higher level than pre-pandemic, they stressed.
They added: “We are writing to recommend a joint public information campaign between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education to help pupils and parents make more informed decisions about attending school with a minor illness, and about appropriate situations in which to seek care from a GP.
“The Education Committee previously published a report on persistent absence in schools. While illness was the primary cause of absence both pre- and post-pandemic, illness related absences remain significantly higher than pre-Covid owing to the shift in parental attitudes surrounding sending their children to school with minor illnesses.
“In the recommendations from that report the Education Committee wrote: ‘The Department should launch a targeted public information campaign to guide parents on when and when not children who are unwell should attend school.’”
The letter continued: “There is a high demand on primary care services, particularly during the winter months.
“This has become even more clear to us both through conversations with general practitioners in our constituencies and from the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry ‘The future of general practice’.
“The challenge of ensuring communities have access to their GP can be exacerbated if parents do not have an understanding of when it is appropriate to contact their GP regarding their child’s illness, and when to administer self-care.”
During its recent inquiry into persistent absence, the Education Committee heard that whilst there is a range of complex factors causing children to miss school, physical illness is the most common reason for absence.
There has also been a surge in the number of youngsters seeking mental health support.
The Education Committee heard evidence that, since the pandemic, parents have become more reluctant to send their children to school when they have a mild illness.
