Children with ‘sore throats and runny noses’ are better off at school than at home warns Chris Whitty as at home they’ll only become more anxious
- Letter to head teachers says attending school improves health and wellbeing
Parents should send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses, Sir Chris Whitty has said.
The Chief Medical Officer wrote that children are better off in the classroom even if they have physical or mental health problems.
In a letter published by the Department for Education to head teachers, Mr Whitty said that keeping anxious children at home would simply make them worse.
It also acknowledged that parents were less confident in deciding whether their children were fit to be in school as a result of the Covid pandemic.
The letter was signed by several other leading medical experts including Professor Kamila Hawthorne, the chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nurses.
Children are better off in the classroom even if they have mild illnesses or mental health issues, says Sir Chris Whitty
A letter signed by several leading health professionals said that keeping children at home could actually increase their anxiety
Also among the signatories was Dr Lade Smith, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Times reported.
Dr Smith said that ‘mild or moderate anxiety’ was a normal part of growing up and that attending school can help tackle such issues.
She added that keeping a child off school was more likely to increase their anxiety about going back.
In advice for teachers to give to parents, the letter said that attending school improves socialisation, health and wellbeing.
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