Making schools ‘police’ jabs must be last resort, say heads

SCHOOLS must not be forced to “police” the vaccination of children before all other avenues have been exhausted, head teachers have warned.

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), spoke out as the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) also said compulsory inoculation should be a last resort.

Over the weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was a case for mandating vaccines in view of falling rates. He said: “There is a strong argument for having compulsory vaccinations for children when they go to school because otherwise they are putting other children at risk.

“I think the public would back us. I have received advice inside Government on how we might go about it.”

But Mr Whiteman said: “Before this issue becomes another one laid at schools’ front doors, NAHT would like to see more done to inform families about the need for children to be vaccinated. If this campaign was successful, it would be unnecessary for schools to police the system.”

Shirley Cramer, the chief executive of the RSPH, said: “Last month’s announcement that the UK has lost its ‘measles-free’ status, coupled with the persistent incremental decline in childhood vaccination that we’ve seen in recent years, should warn us that action must be taken with urgency.

“However, while we applaud the Secretary of State’s recognition of the scale of the issue, compulsory vaccination should be a last resort. There are many other approaches to improving uptake that should be considered.

“These include targeted catch-up programmes for those who have missed out on jabs, shoring up resources for call and recall services, and developing targeted campaigns for boosting access and uptake in undervaccinated communities.

“We need to capitalise on the expertise of our healthcare professionals.”