Sick Child? Here’s What to Do

Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Ministry of Education’s School and Child Care Screening Tool is your go-to source for when to stay home and for how long. If your child is sick, please use the screening tool and follow its guidance.

Hamilton Public Health also provides guidelines on when children must remain absent from school, and for how long, depending on their illness. If your child is ill, please refer to the table below.

Lyonsgate has a policy in place that requests children remain absent, until free of symptoms for 24 hours, of scarlet fever, elevated temperatures (fevers), vomiting, and severe rashes. Also, we require that in cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease children do not return to school until all rash blisters are dry and scabbed over.

If your child is absent from school due to disease or illness, please let us know what is afflicting your child when you notify us of the absence. We are required report certain illnesses or outbreaks to Hamilton Public Health, and/or we may need to notify families in your child’s class, or schoolwide, of symptoms to look out for, so it is important that we keep track of disease and illness.

Thank you for your cooperation. If we all work together we can reduce the spread of illness amongst our children. Don’t forget to wash your hands!

Hamilton Public Health Illness Exclusion Table