It’s 9:30 on a Tuesday morning and your phone rings. Your child’s educator is calling to let you know your little one has a temperature of 38°C and needs to be picked up. Your stomach drops, your mind races through work commitments, and you wonder: how long will they need to stay home?
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Every parent with a child in early learning will face this situation at some point, and it can feel stressful when you’re not sure what happens next. That’s why we want to walk you through exactly how childcare sickness policies work at Kiddie Garden (and most other centres), so there are no surprises if that call comes through.
Why Do Childcare Centres Have Exclusion Policies for Sick Children?
Young children in childcare are more vulnerable to catching and spreading infections than children at home. They’re in close contact with other children throughout the day, they share toys and resources, and younger children are still building their immune systems. A single case of gastro or hand, foot and mouth disease can move through a room quickly if it’s not managed early.
This is why every licensed childcare centre in NSW is required to have an infectious diseases policy under the Education and Care Services National Regulations (Regulation 88 and Regulation 168). These aren’t optional guidelines. They’re legal obligations designed to protect all children and staff in care.
At Kiddie Garden, our exclusion policy is built on recommendations from two key authorities:
- NHMRC’s Staying Healthy guidelines (the national benchmark for infection control in early childhood settings)
- NSW Health’s published exclusion periods for infectious diseases.
What Happens When a Child Becomes Unwell at Our Centre
Our educators see your child every day and know how they look and behave when they’re well. When something seems off, here’s how we respond.
Temperature checks and the 38°C threshold. If an educator suspects your child has a fever, they’ll take their temperature. According to the NHMRC, a fever is a body temperature of 38°C or above. If your child’s temperature sits between 37.5°C and 37.9°C, our educators will monitor them closely and retest within 30 minutes. If it reaches 38°C or higher, we’ll call you straight away and ask you to come and collect your child.
While you’re on your way, your child will be separated from the other children and kept comfortable with a familiar educator. This is to reduce the chance of spreading whatever is causing the fever to other children in the room.
We also look at the full picture, not just one symptom. A child with a single cough wouldn’t usually be excluded. But a child with a cough who also has a fever and a runny nose should be excluded until the symptoms clear or the illness is diagnosed. Our educators are trained to make these assessments using the NHMRC’s guidelines, weighing up whether symptoms are new, whether they’re getting worse, and whether the child is well enough to participate in the day.
How this works: Recently, one of our educators noticed a child wasn’t feeling well during the morning. When they took her temperature, it was 38°C. Following our sickness policy, the family was contacted immediately for pick-up. The child was then excluded for 24 hours from the time she was collected. So, because she was picked up at 11:00am, she was able to return to the centre at 11:00am the following day, provided she was feeling well, eating and drinking normally, and had no temperature for the rest of that day and overnight.
This is how our 24-hour exclusion for fever works in practice. It gives the child time to recover and helps us make sure they’re genuinely well before returning to group care.
Common Childhood Illnesses and Their Exclusion Periods
Fever
Exclude until the child’s temperature has returned to normal and they are well. If a doctor diagnoses the underlying cause, the exclusion period for that illness applies instead.
Gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea)
Exclude until there has been no vomiting or diarrhoea for at least 24 hours. If the illness is confirmed as norovirus, exclusion extends to at least 48 hours after symptoms stop. NSW Health recommends the same 48-hour exclusion for gastro outbreaks in childcare settings.
Hand, foot and mouth disease
Exclude until the child’s fever has stopped, they are eating and drinking normally, and all blisters have dried. This illness is common in early childhood settings and can cause painful mouth blisters that make eating difficult.
Chicken Pox
Exclude until all blisters have dried, which is usually at least five days after the rash first appeared. Children who have been immunised may have a shorter infectious period.
Conjunctivitis (infectious)
Exclude until the discharge from the eyes has stopped. A doctor’s visit is recommended because viral and bacterial conjunctivitis look the same but need different treatment.
Respiratory illnesses (COVID-19, influenza, RSV)
Exclude until the child is well. The NHMRC advises educators to monitor respiratory symptoms and exclude a child if they have several symptoms at the same time, if symptoms are new or getting worse, or if respiratory symptoms appear alongside a fever, rash, or tiredness. A child with a lingering cough after recovering from a respiratory infection (where all other symptoms have cleared and they’re otherwise well) can usually return.
When Your Child Doesn't Need to Stay Home
Just as important as knowing when to keep your child home is knowing when you don’t need to. The NHMRC’s Staying Healthy guidelines are careful to balance preventing the spread of infection with avoiding unnecessary absences. Here are common situations where exclusion is not required.
A lingering cough after a cold or respiratory infection
This is one of the most common questions we get. A child can often have an ongoing cough for days or even weeks after recovering from a respiratory illness. If they are well and participating normally, they can return to the centre. A cough on its own, without fever, worsening symptoms, or tiredness, is not a reason to stay home.
A mild runny nose without other symptoms
A single runny nose is not grounds for exclusion. A child with a runny nose who is eating well, has energy, and is happily playing is very different from a child with a runny nose combined with a fever, cough, and tiredness. We only exclude a child with respiratory symptoms when they are severe, getting worse, appearing alongside other symptoms, or when multiple respiratory symptoms are present at the same time.
A rash on its own
A rash on its own may not be cause for concern. Many childhood rashes are caused by heat, allergies, eczema, or viral infections that have already passed the contagious stage. Children with a rash do not need to be sent home unless the rash is developing rapidly or is combined with a fever or other concerning symptoms.
Head lice
Children with head lice do not need to be sent home immediately. The NHMRC confirms that no exclusion is required as long as effective treatment begins before the next day of attendance. Head lice are a nuisance, but not a health risk. (Tip – head lice love clean hair, so don’t be vigilant about washing your child’s hair when you know they are attending childcare the following day).
Conditions that are not spread person to person
Several diagnosed conditions carry no exclusion requirement at all. These include asthma, ear infections (unless combined with other concerning symptoms), cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis B and C, cold sores, Roseola, Slapped cheek syndrome, glandular fever, and HIV.
Non-infectious conjunctivitis
If a doctor has confirmed that a child’s eye discharge is caused by an allergy or irritant rather than a bacterial or viral infection, the child does not need to be excluded.
Fever with a known non-infectious cause
Some children may have a raised temperature due to teething, a reaction to immunisation, or another cause their doctor has identified as non-infectious. Where there is a known non-infectious reason for the fever, exclusion may not be required.
After a fever
If a child has gone home from the centre with a fever but their temperature is normal the next day, they may return after the 24 hour exclusion period. See our example further up this page.
How We Keep You Informed if We Think Your Child is Sick
Transparency matters to us. Here’s what you can expect from our team when illness appears at the centre.
- Immediate, direct communication. If your child becomes unwell, we’ll call you. We’ll describe the symptoms we’ve observed, what we’ve done, and what needs to happen next.
- Clear exclusion guidance. We’ll tell you exactly how long your child needs to stay home and what the return criteria are.
- Centre-wide notifications. When a contagious illness is circulating in a room, we’ll post a notice at the centre entry and notify families in that room. This includes the type of illness, symptoms to watch for, and any relevant exclusion information. We’ll never name individual children – your family’s privacy is always protected.
- Outbreak reporting. If we see two or more linked cases of a notifiable illness, we’re required to report this to the local Public Health Unit. NSW Health may then provide us with additional guidance on managing the outbreak, and we’ll pass that information on to you.
As a small, independent preschool and long day care centre, we have the advantage of knowing every family personally, and being able to monitor children in our care closely. We practice diligent hand hygiene, toy rotation and cleaning, infection control procedures, and regularly monitor the health and safety of all children in our care, as well as our staff.
What You Can Do to Help
Parents play a huge role in reducing childcare illness. Here are some things that make a difference.
Keep your child home if they're unwell
Sending a child who is borderline unwell puts other children at risk. If your child has had a fever, vomiting, or diarrhoea overnight, please keep them home even if they seem a little better in the morning.
Tell us if someone at home is sick
If a family member has a contagious illness, your child may be incubating it. Letting us know means we can keep an eye out for early symptoms.
Teach good hygiene at home
Show your child how to wash their hands properly with soap and water, sneeze into their elbow, and avoid sharing drink bottles. These habits and self help skills reinforce what our educators teach at the centre every day.
Stay up to date with immunisations
Vaccination is one of the strongest protections against serious infectious diseases. Under the Australian Immunisation Register requirements and NSW’s “no jab, no play” policy, children attending childcare must meet immunisation requirements. If you’re unsure about your child’s schedule, your GP or the Parramatta council immunisation clinic can help.
Childcare Sickness Policies Are Here to Protect All Children
We understand that exclusion can feel inconvenient, even unfair, especially when your child seems fine by the afternoon. But the guidelines exist for good reason. Children can still be infectious even when they’re starting to feel better. The 24-hour and 48-hour exclusion windows give enough time for contagiousness to drop and for us to be confident that your child, and the other children in their room, are safe.
At Kiddie Garden, we have a genuine commitment to the health and wellbeing of every child in our care. It sits alongside everything else we do, from our educator-to-child ratios to our commitment to meeting the National Quality Standard, to create an environment where children can learn, play, and grow in safety.
If you have questions about our illness or exclusion policy, we’re always happy to talk it through. You can call us, speak to your child’s educator at drop-off, or book a tour to see how we approach health and safety across the whole centre.