Our nurses are school age immunisation experts which enables us to deliver a high quality, responsive service across the county.

We work closely with the School Nursing team, Health Visiting team, Children in Care team and the county’s midwifery service.as well as schools and other local partners to support parents, carers and all eligible children and young people to access immunisation opportunities to improve their chances of remaining healthy and to safeguard the public health of the population.

In the UK, every child should be protected against preventable diseases and is entitled to free childhood immunisations. It is important that children are offered the chance to be vaccinated safely and effectively.

We provide vaccinations for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (Td/IPV), Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) and influenza (flu).

We also offer the BCG vaccination for those children and young people that meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria, as well as the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to children in Years 8-11 who have never previously received the MMR vaccine, or have only had one dose.

Sessions take place in schools and community venues to help ensure that all children have access to the service.

About our immunisation service

It is important to protect our children and young people against dangerous infectious diseases.

The National Immunisation Programme means that diseases like Polio have disappeared in the UK; this is only possible by maintaining the high vaccination rates for children and young people across our local communities.

We offer the following immunisation programmes in schools:

  • Seasonal Flu vaccination to protect healthy children in primary and secondary schools.
  • Seasonal Flu vaccination to protect children in special schools for those aged between 4–18 years.
  • Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to protect against cervical cancer for those in school years 8 and 9 and any young person in Year 10 11 who have missed the vaccination
  • Teenage booster and Meningitis ACWY vaccinations to protect young people against Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio and Meningitis for those in school year 9, and any young person in Year 10 and 11 and additional years who have missed the vaccination
  • Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine for those in school years 8-11 who have never previously had the vaccines, or only had one dose.

Find out more about NHS vaccines here>

Or watch Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam explain in more detail in this video>

Children with special educational needs or disabilities

Some children with special educational needs or disabilities may find vaccination sessions stressful, however, we are experienced in supporting children and young people who have additional needs and may be anxious about vaccinations.

We vaccinate in school and parents and carers are welcome to be there if they would like to be.

We also hold clinics in the school holidays at locations across Gloucestershire from fire stations to hospitals. You can book a location and time of your choice and in exceptional circumstances, we offer home visits. If you would like to discuss this with our team, contact us by email: GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk or call us on: 0300 421 8140

Children’s Flu vaccine

The Flu is a virus that can spread very easily and make us feel really poorly. The best way to protect yourself and your family and friends is to receive the Flu vaccination.

The National Flu Programme this year (2023/2024 Academic year) will be offered to all young people from Reception to Year 11.

Our team of Nurses and Support Workers will be visiting all schools in Gloucestershire, as well as running local clinics to ensure these cohort of school aged children have the opportunity to access the Flu nasal spray.

Watch the BSL videos of the Protecting your child against flu leaflet and links to the printable and easy-read leaflets here>

How the vaccine will be given to your child

We are a team of skilled and experienced nurses and support staff. The flu vaccination is a quick and simple spray up the nose.

Step one: The nurse places the tip of a thin plastic tube just inside the nostril. The child can breathe normally whilst the vaccine is given.

Step two: Half of the vaccine is sprayed in one nostril.

Step three: The other half of the vaccine is sprayed into the other nostril.

The nasal spray may not be suitable for some children, for more information visit: www.nhs.uk/child-flu. To access an injectable version of the flu vaccine, call the team on 0300 421 8140 to book into a community clinic near you.

If you have any questions or need support to complete the consent form, contact our friendly team on 0300 421 8140, email: GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk

For more information read the NHS leaflet.

The HPV Vaccine

All young people aged 12 and 13 are offered the HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccination as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme. The vaccine helps protect against cancers caused by HPV, including:

The HPV vaccine has been part of the NHS routine vaccination schedule since 2008 and is one of the most successful in the world; dramatically lowering the rates of cervical cancer and harmful infections in both women and men, preventing many cancers and saving lives.

In the UK it is available to all young people in Year 8 and Year 9 (aged 12 to 13 years), offered mainly in secondary schools – this includes children not in mainstream school via a community clinic delivery model.

Previously delivered in two doses, the latest evidence shows that one dose provides protection as robust as two. With this in mind, as of this academic year (September 2023), teenagers only require a single HPV vaccination. This follows updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

When your child reaches eligible age, a HPV pack will be shared with them at school or posted from your local education authority if your child is home educated. The pack will include a letter, information leaflet and consent form.

The HPV vaccine will be given as an injection in your upper arm, so young people are advised to wear short-sleeved tops on vaccination day.

If you have any questions, concerns, additional needs or if your child is absent or unwell on the day or the session, contact our friendly team on: 0300 421 8140 or email: GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk

For more information read the NHS leaflet

The Tetanus/ Diptheria/ Polio Vaccine (TdiPV)

The TdiPV Vaccine, also known as the 3-in-1 booster, is given to increase protection against three diseases  – tetanus, diphtheria and polio.

It is given to young people in year 9 as a single injection into the muscle of the upper arm and to those young people in year 10 & 11 who have missed their vaccination. Young people are advised to wear short-sleeved tops on vaccination day.

If you have any questions, concerns, additional needs or if your child is absent or unwell on the day or the session, contact our friendly team on: 0300 421 8140 or email: GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk

For more information read the NHS leaflet.

The Meningitis ACWY Vaccine

The MenACWY vaccine protects against four common groups of meningococcal diseases – Men A, MenC Men W and MenY. The disease is rare but life threatening and caused by the meningococcal bacteria    

It is given to young people in year 9 as a single injection into the muscle of the upper arm and to those young people in year 10 and 11 who have missed their vaccination

For more information read the NHS leaflet

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine

The MMR vaccine is a safe and effective combined vaccine. It protects against three serious illnesses:

Young children should be offered the MMR vaccine as part of the UK national vaccination programme.

They will be offered two doses of the vaccine – the first one just after their first birthday and the second dose before they start school (usually at around three years and four months of age).

To see if your child is up to date with their MMR vaccines, check their Personal Child Health Record (PCHR), known as the red book, or contact your GP practice.

If you have a child at secondary school (Year 8-Year 11) and they have never previously received the MMR vaccine, have only had one dose of it, or you’re not sure of their vaccination status, our School Aged Immunisation Team can check your child’s record and arrange to give them their outstanding doses if needed.

To contact the School Aged Immunisation Team call 0300 421 8140 or email MMR.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk

For further information about the MMR vaccine visit: MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Frequently asked questions about vaccines

Did you know that one of the best ways to protect your child is to make sure they have all of their vaccinations at the time they are recommended to ensure the mostly timely protection.

  • Immunisations can save your child’s life: infectious diseases continue to cause significant harm to children across the world, with some even dying as a result – don’t let your child be one of them.
  • Vaccinations are very safe and effective: vaccines are only licensed for children after long and careful development and testing by researchers and doctors. Vaccines will involve some discomfort such as localised pain, redness, or tenderness at the site of injection but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines protect against. Fever can be expected after any vaccination, but is more common with the Men B vaccineGiving paracetamol with or soon after Men B vaccination – and not waiting for a fever to develop – will reduce the risk of your child having a fever. Serious side effects following vaccination, including severe allergic reactions, are very rare.
  • Immunisation protects others you care about: some babies are too young to receive certain vaccines, whilst others may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to existing conditions including severe allergies, weakened immune systems or other reasons. To help keep them safe until they can receive vaccinations themselves, it is important that you and any other children in your family are fully immunized. This not only protects you, but also helps prevent the spread of these diseases to other members of your immediate family, friends and other loved ones.

It’s normal to have questions about any medication that you’re giving to your child and vaccines are no exception.

The most common questions that parents ask are:

Why should I have my child vaccinated?

Won’t herd immunity protect them? Herd immunity does not protect against all diseases. The best example of this is tetanus, which is caught from bacteria in the environment, not from other people who have the disease. In addition, for herd immunity to work properly, most people in the population need to be vaccinated. There are low vaccination rates in some parts of the UK and in some communities, as well as in many overseas countries. This means that if your child is not vaccinated, it is quite likely that many of the people they come into contact with will not be vaccinated either. So if one person gets an infectious disease, it can spread quickly through all the unvaccinated people in the group (this happened during the 2013 measles outbreak in Wales).

Won’t having several vaccines at the same time overload my baby’s immune system?

Parents often worry that a child’s immune system will not be able to cope with several vaccines at once. In fact, even a tiny baby’s immune system can cope easily. Starting from birth, babies come into contact with millions of germs every day. It is estimated that the human body contains enough white blood cells to cope with thousands of vaccines at any one time. If a child was given 11 vaccines at once, it would only use about a thousandth of the immune system. It is not a good idea to delay vaccinations to ‘spread the load’, because it leaves the child unprotected against serious diseases for longer.

How do I know that vaccines are safe?

All vaccines go through a long and thorough process of development and testing before they are licensed for use. Vaccines have to be tested on adults and children separately before they can be used for different age groups; this is because vaccines that work in adults may not work so well in children. No vaccines are tested on children before they have been fully tested on adults. Click here for more information about vaccine safety and side effects.

Useful resources

  • Watch this NHS video to find out more about the vaccine here>
  • Watch the BSL video of the HPV vaccination leaflet here>
    This provides information on the programme so that parents can give informed consent for their children to have their 2 HPV vaccinations. There is also an accompanying BSL video to the consent form explaining each section. The HPV vaccination leaflet is translated into 25 languages here>

Contact details

Telephone:

School Aged Immunisation Enquiry Form

If you have an enquiry about the school age immunisations service and want us to contact you please complete your details and we will be in touch.

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