School Age Immunisation

General Information

Kernow Health CIC began delivering the School Immunisation Programme in Cornwall on behalf of NHS England back in 2016, and to this day we continue to cover all schools in the county, now offering more immunisations than ever before.

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the contract to deliver the School Immunisation Programme in Devon from August 2023 and look forward to working with schools, children and parents in the future.

Why Vaccinations Are Important

Routine vaccinations are offered free of charge on the NHS to all eligible children and young people in the UK. Diseases are kept at bay by the high immunisation rates and that’s why it’s so important for us to protect young people against a range of diseases such as polio, cervical cancer, penile cancer, tetanus and diphtheria. For young children, it is also vital we protect them against flu.

How It Works

A vaccine contains a small part of the bacterium or virus that causes a disease, or tiny amounts of the chemicals that the bacterium produces. Vaccines work by causing the body’s immune system to make antibodies (substances to fight infections and diseases). So if you come into contact with the infection, the antibodies will recognise it and protect you. The flu vaccination for children is administered by a quick and simple spray up the nose, whilst the HPV vaccines, for example, are given via an injection.

Where Are The Vaccinations Carried Out?

Our school-age immunisation team is responsible for the planning and delivery of the school-age immunisation programmes in Cornwall and Devon. The vaccinations programmes are primarily carried out in schools, although we also offer clinics in other community settings for home-educated children and other children depending on individual need. Below, we provide advice and information for parents, clinical staff, schools, children and young people.

Catch-up clinics

If your child missed their flu vaccination, book onto one of our catch-up clinics.  Contact our team to find out clinic dates and venues, and to make an appointment:

Cornwall:

Information For Children & Young People

Immunisation is a very important part of maintaining health, not just for you, but also for your families, friends and the entire population.

Our aim at Kernow Health CIC is to see a significant increase in the number of children and young people protected against serious diseases, which are all potentially life-threatening.

Gillick Competency

People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances.

Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there’s significant evidence to suggest otherwise.

Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they’re believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what’s involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent. Read more HERE.

Contact Us

Our school-age Immunisation Team is always happy to speak to you, your school or your families. You can call or email us:

Information For Parents

As of September 2023, the immunisation programme will be as follows:

  • Reception through to year 11 – Flu immunisation (upto age 18 in special schools)
  • Year 8 girls and boys HPV
  • Years 9, 10 and 11 girls and boys – Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio and Meningitis ACWY
  • Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) catch up vaccinations

Please note, that from September 1 2023, the HPV vaccination has changed from two doses to one dose.  If you have any questions about this, please do not hesitate to call our team who will be happy to advise you.

There are some great videos online here that answer many questions parents might have about their child receiving the HPV vaccination. The videos are available in many different languages. You can view an English language version below:

Home Schooled Children

If your child is home-schooled, please contact us on 01872 221105 (Cornwall), or 01392 342678 (Devon) to book your child into one of our catch-up clinics.

Gillick Competency

People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances.

Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there’s significant evidence to suggest otherwise.

Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they’re believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what’s involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent. Read more HERE.

Contact Us

Our school-age Immunisation Team is always happy to speak to your children when they visit your child’s school, or to you if you would like to contact us:

Information For Schools

As of September 2023, the immunisation programme will be as follows:

  • Reception through to year 11 – Flu immunisation (upto age 18 in special schools)
  • Year 8 girls and boys HPV
  • Years 9, 10 and 11 girls and boys – Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio and Meningitis ACWY
  • Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) catch up vaccinations

Contact Us

Our school-age Immunisation Team is always happy to speak to you, your staff and your pupils when they come to your schools. Alternatively you can call or email us using these contact details:

Resources for Schools

We have produced some easy read leaflets to download which help to explain the vaccination process for both nasal and IM injection vaccinations.

Nasal flu vaccination – cartoon easy read leaflet

Nasal flu – storyboard easy read leaflet

IM injection – storyboard easy read leaflet

We have also produced some graphics to download and use on your social media channels to let your followers know when the school immunisation team will be visiting your school:

Generic reminder

Primary school graphic 1

Primary school graphic 2

Primary school graphic 3

Secondary school graphic 1

Secondary school graphic 2

Secondary school graphic 3

Consent Forms

Consent Forms

In order to access online consent forms,
please click on one of the links below, ensuring you enter your child’s unique school reference code.

HPV Consent Form
Flu Consent Form
Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio and Meningitis Consent Form
COVID-19 Consent Form 

Feedback About Our Service

We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our service and we
welcome your honest comments on our School Immunisation feedback form.

School Immunisation Feedback Form

Your initial call

Excluding any pre-recorded message, how long did it take for your call to be answered? *
Was the person you spoke to helpful? *

If you attended a catch up clinic with your child

How long did you wait to be seen by a nurse

Was the venue easily accessible?

Was the venue easy to access *

With regard to the nurse you saw, how would you rate the following?

Listening to me and my child
Putting my child at ease

Rate your overall experience

Overall how satisfied were you with your experience of the service? *

Any other comments?

Name
Name
First
Last
Useful Links & Videos

Below are a list of useful links to the NHS for more information on vaccinations plus some short videos too:

Vaccination Guide

This guide can help you understand the vaccines offered in the UK and when to have them. It also explains how they work and why they’re safe and important. Click HERE.

Consent To Treatment

Consent to treatment means a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination. Click HERE.

 

Children’s Flu Vaccine

The children’s flu vaccine is safe and effective. It’s offered every year as a nasal spray to children to help protect them against flu. Click HERE.

3-in-1 Teenage Booster

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the 3-in-1 teenage booster jab. Click HERE.

HPV Vaccine

Girls and boys aged 12 to 13 years are offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as part of the NHS vaccination programme. Click HERE.

COVID-19 Vaccine

From autumn 2021, children aged 12-15 will be offered the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the NHS vaccination programme. Click HERE.

Videos

How Do Vaccines Work Video

What Is The HPV Vaccine