School Age Immunisation Service

Our School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) provides immunisations to all school age children, including those that are home educated and in special education schools.

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.

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

Consent for vaccinations

How to access the service ​

The School Aged Vaccination Programmes are routinely delivered within schools. Before your child’s planned Immunisation session, you will receive a letter containing a link to the e-consent form and your unique school code. This will be sent via email or text from your child’s school to all parent/carers to complete. The e-consent process is easy, secure and convenient, and accessible via smart phones (Apple and Android), tablet or computer. For Families who are unable to access email or the internet, verbal consent can be given by calling our team. Children of secondary school age may be able to give their own consent for the immunisation if they can demonstrate they fully understand the benefits and risks.​

If your child is educated at home, you will receive a letter from the School Aged Immunisation Service with details of how to consent and an online link to book an appointment into a community clinic or alternatively, contact the team on 0300 421 8140 where a verbal consent can be taken and an appointment made.​

Complete your child’s e-consent form

To consent for your child’s vaccination, you will require their Unique School Code. Please find your child’s school code from the list below.​

If you need any support completing a consent form, please email us at GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk providing your name and telephone number or call the team on 0300 421 8140. Our Hours are Monday – Friday 8am-4pm. Please leave a message on our answer machine and a member of our team will get back to you.

Find your child’s school code

School codes A-K

School codes L-R

School codes S-Z

Find out more about consent

Whilst consent for vaccinations is required from parents for children and young people, for those attending senior schools, the decision to have the vaccination is legally with the young person and, providing they are deemed to understand the reasons for the vaccination and the issues in giving consent, they can self-consent on the day. We record vaccine refusals from both young people and parents to ensure their health records are up-to-date and to identify any concerns that are highlighted. If you are unsure about having the vaccinations or if you would like to discuss anything further, contact us by email GHC.Immunisation@ghc.nhs.uk or call us on 0300 421 8140.