Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of schools in promoting and administering vaccinations for children.

School-based vaccination delivery is a key component of the National Immunisation Programme. Currently, vaccines offered in schools include: human papillomavirus; meningococcal A, C, W, Y; tetanus, diphtheria, and polio; measles, mumps, and rubella; and the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Educational settings play a vital role in supporting the routine immunisation programme by sharing accurate and timely information with parents and caregivers. To assist with this, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a wide range of educational resources designed to raise awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of immunisation, and how vaccines protect individuals and communities. These resources include:

• the e-Bug online programme, with further information available on the e-bug.eu website;
• back-to-school immunisation resources for nurseries, primary, and secondary schools, with further information available on the GOV.UK website; and
• the Immunisations for Young People leaflet, which is available on the GOV.UK website.

School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) providers are commissioned by NHS England to deliver the school-based immunisation programmes. Children who are home-schooled or not in mainstream education are also included. The success of school-based immunisation programmes depends on close working relationships between the schools, school nurses, and SAIS providers. Therefore, schools also play a vital role in facilitating SAIS providers to deliver vaccinations within school settings and in supporting the delivery of routine and seasonal immunisation programmes through the sharing of information with parents and caregivers at key points. Schools support the immunisation process by:

• providing appropriate space and time in the school timetable for vaccination sessions;
• reminding staff, pupils, and parents or carers about upcoming sessions;
• distributing information leaflets and consent forms; and
• sharing lists of eligible pupils and contact details with the SAIS team.

The UKHSA publishes regularly updated guidance for schools on how to support immunisation activities effectively, with further information available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

Recognising the need to improve the vaccine uptake of our school-aged programme, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with NHS England, the UKHSA, and the Department for Education to better understand the barriers and facilitators to effective delivery of school-based immunisation programmes, and approaches to supporting increased vaccination uptake among school-aged children. This work is to ensure a more comprehensive and focused support offer is made available to schools to deliver their role effectively and support improvements in vaccine uptake.

Alongside this work, NHS England also continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level, and is involved in the delivery of school-aged vaccinations to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models of vaccination delivery.