The Children and Young People’s Health Service provides vaccines in schools in support of the National Childhood Immunisation Programme.
The team consists of experienced qualified nurses and administrators who deliver the vaccinations within the school environment.
Information regarding vaccinations will be sent to relevant parents and carers via ParentMail. This will include information regarding the vaccination and a link to the online consent form to be completed and signed by a parent, or carer with parental consent. Please ensure that you fully read all information to be able to make an informed decision. The online consent form should be completed regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. No vaccination can take place without a completed consent form that has been signed by the person with parental responsibility for the student.
The vaccinations will then take place within a suitable school venue in a calm and supportive environment. Only students that have returned a fully completed and signed consent form will be vaccinated. After the vaccination has taken place, students will also be given aftercare information.
Should any parent require further information about any aspect of these immunisations they can contact the team at hct.csaissuffolk.nhs.net or on 0300 5555055 (option 3) and the team will be happy to help. Visit the Hertfordshire and East Anglia Community and School Age Immunisation Service website for more information.
Hertfordshire and East Anglia Community and School Age Immunisation Service delivers the school immunisation programme in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk. The local teams work in partnership with schools, including state, independent, special schools and pupil referral units, and offer community clinics for young people who are educated at home. The service may also be required to respond in case of disease outbreaks in the community.
The Flu vaccination is administered by Vaccination UK, who has been commissioned by NHS England since 2015 to provide school aged immunisations, including Influenza, to pupils across large parts of England.
Why vaccination dropped off during the pandemic
The pandemic presented many challenges for the routine vaccination of adolescents such as school absences and closures because of COVID-19. Since then, there may also be some ‘vaccine fatigue’ among parents following multiple vaccine offers in close succession and confusion about what is being offered, with uptake rates still not back to pre-pandemic levels.
Why it matters if some young people are not vaccinated
When a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, it is difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not many people who can be infected. This is called ‘herd immunity’ and it gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies, elderly people and those who are too sick to be vaccinated.
Herd immunity only works if most people in the population are vaccinated. Despite relatively high vaccination rates in England, rates are much lower in some parts of the country and in some communities. If a young person lives in an area where vaccine coverage is low and they are not vaccinated, it’s quite likely that many of the people they come into contact with will not be vaccinated either. If one of these people gets an infectious disease like measles, they can easily pass it on to the other unvaccinated people around them, and in some cases the disease can then spread very quickly through the population.
The immunisation service is provided by experienced nurses and support staff. Parental consent is required for all school vaccinations unless a young person is over the age of 18 years.
Further details of the immunisation programme can be found below.
The vaccination team previously vaccinated all students where parental consent had been received, who met the age range and eligibility criteria, and were in the academy on the vaccination dates. We have not been informed of any further Covid vaccinations taking place at this time.
For the 2023/2024 flu season, the flu vaccination is being offered to students from Year 7 through to Year 11. The programme is part of the government’s wider winter planning to reduce flu levels in the population, and therefore the potential impact on the NHS, when we are likely to see both flu and coronavirus in circulation.
Prior to the vaccination dates, a ParentMail message with a link to the vaccination portal. All parents/carers should complete the portal form regardless of whether consent is given or declined.
For most young people, it is offered as a nasal spray. A small number of children cannot have the nasal spray because of pre-existing medical conditions or treatments and are offered protection through an injected vaccine instead.
The nasal vaccine contains highly processed porcine gelatine as an essential stabiliser. For those who may not accept the use of porcine gelatine in medicines, a flu vaccine injection is available. Parents should discuss their options with the school-aged immunisation team.
The Suffolk team of Vaccination UK will deliver the flu vaccine programme within the academy. All students where parental consent was received, and were in lessons at the academy on the vaccination dates, will receive the vaccination. If you have any questions regarding the flu vaccinations that are not answered in the consent form information or the links below, please contact the vaccination team direct on [email protected] or by phone on 01603 394 103.
If your child has not yet received their flu vaccination, but you would like to book an appointment, please click here.
The HPV vaccine is offered to boys and girls in year 8 to protect against genital warts and HPV-related cancers such as cervical cancer, other genital cancers and cancers of the head and neck. From 2023, only one dose of HPV vaccine is now required to protect against HPV infection in this age group (unless individuals have specific health reasons which may mean they require 3 doses).
If you would like to complete consent for a year 8 students to have their HPV vaccination please click here, and they will be vaccinated when the nurses return to the academy.
Children who have missed their HPV vaccine will also be offered catch-up opportunities by the school-aged immunisation team and GP practices.
Any queries in relation to this vaccination should be emailed directly to the team at [email protected] or by telephoning 0300 555 5055.
The MenACWY vaccine is offered to young people in Year 9 and some Year 10 and protects against meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal column) and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by meningococcal groups A,C,W and Y.
Please see below for the leaflet on menACWY.
The MenACWY and DTP vaccinations are scheduled to take place on Thursday 25th January 2024. This will be for any Year 9 student where consent has been received, and Year 10 students where consents have already been received but the vaccination has not yet taken place. Year 9 parents/carers will be asked to complete a consent form, as detailed in the attached document whether consent is to be given or declined. For any queries please contact the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust team on either 0300 555 5055 or by email [email protected]. Further information can also be found on their website here.
The 3 in 1 Teenage Booster is offered to young people in Year 9 and some Year 10, generally at the same time as the MenACWY vaccination, and boosts protection against tetanus, diptheria and polio.
Further details of the vaccine and FAQs can be found here.
The MenACWY and DTP vaccinations are scheduled to take place on Thursday 25th January 2024. This will be for any Year 9 student where consent has been received, and Year 10 students where consents have already been received but the vaccination has not yet taken place. Year 9 parents/ carers will be asked to complete a consent form, whether consent is to be given or declined. For any queries please contact Vaccination UK Hertfordshire and Suffolk on 01462 427008, or by emailing [email protected]. Further information can also be found on their website www.schoolvaccination.uk
Ahead of vaccination sessions, the MMR vaccine status of a young person will be checked to see if any doses have been missed earlier in childhood. This vaccine is needed to provide protection against measles, mumps and rubella. If a dose has been missed this can also be given by the school-aged immunisation team, if they are able to. Alternatively, a referral is made to the young person’s registered GP practice.
Please read the leaflet below for more information.
If you are not sure if your child has been fully vaccinated against MMR please contact your local CSAIS team on [email protected].