Student Physical Health

Children and Young People’s Health Service

East of England community and school-aged immunisation service

This service is provided by Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, who offers the complete UK Vaccination progamme in schools in our region.

They also work with partners Vaccination UK on the delivery of their school-aged flu programme.

Vaccinations are administered by fully qualified clinicians within the school environment, with the service also supported by various administrative and operational staff. 

Depending on the vaccination type, information may be sent to parents and carers either directly from the immunisation team, or through our school Arbor communication system. The details will include information regarding the vaccination and a link to an online consent form to be completed by a parent or carer with parental responsibility to consent. Please ensure that you fully read all information to be able to make an informed decision. The online consent form should be completed regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. No vaccination can take place without a completed consent form that has been completed by the person with parental responsibility for the student. 

The vaccinations will then take place within a suitable school venue in a calm and supportive environment. Only students that have returned a fully completed and signed consent form will be vaccinated. After the vaccination has taken place, students will also be given aftercare information to take home. 

Hertfordshire and East Anglia Community and School Age Immunisation Service delivers the school immunisation programme in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk. The local teams work in partnership with schools, including state, independent, special schools and pupil referral units, and offer community clinics for young people who are educated at home. The service may also be required to respond in case of disease outbreaks in the community.

The Flu vaccination is administered by Vaccination UK, who has been commissioned by NHS England since 2015 to provide school aged immunisations, including Influenza, to pupils across large parts of England.

When a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, it is difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not many people who can be infected. This is called ‘herd immunity’ and it gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies, elderly people and those who are too sick to be vaccinated.

Herd immunity only works if most people in the population are vaccinated. Despite relatively high vaccination rates in England, rates are much lower in some parts of the country and in some communities. If a young person lives in an area where vaccine coverage is low and they are not vaccinated, it’s quite likely that many of the people they come into contact with will not be vaccinated either. If one of these people gets an infectious disease like measles, they can easily pass it on to the other unvaccinated people around them, and in some cases the disease can then spread very quickly through the population.

Further Information on why vaccines are important can be found on the NHS website here.

For the 2026/2027 flu season, the flu vaccination is again being offered to students from Year 7 through to Year 11. The programme is part of the government’s wider winter planning to reduce flu levels in the population, and therefore the potential impact on the NHS, when we are likely to see both flu and coronavirus in circulation.

For most young people, it is offered as a nasal spray. A small number of children cannot have the nasal spray because of pre-existing medical conditions or treatments and are offered protection through an injected vaccine instead.

The nasal vaccine contains highly processed porcine gelatine as an essential stabiliser. For those who may not accept the use of porcine gelatine in medicines, a flu vaccine injection is available. If in doubt, parents should discuss their options with the immunisation team.

The Norfolk team of Vaccination UK will deliver the flu vaccine programme within the academy. All students where parental consent is received, and are in lessons at the academy on the vaccination dates, will receive the vaccination. In the Autumn term they will send out further information and the relevant consent form. We would ask all parents/carers to complete the consent form regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. However we would also ask for the supporting information to be carefully read before completing the consent form.

If you have any questions regarding the flu vaccinations that are not answered in the consent form information or the links below, please contact the vaccination team direct on [email protected] or by phone on 01449 701430.

Additional Information:

Vaccination UK supporting information can be found here.

NHS information regarding the flu vaccine click here.

For further information on the flu vaccine and consents, please read the leaflets below.

Protect yourself against Flu leaflet can be found here.

Reasons to have the vaccine poster can be found here.

The HPV vaccination helps protect boys and girls from HPV-related cancers. This virus increases the risk of developing some cancers later in life, such as cervical cancer, some mouth and throat cancers and some cancers of the anus and genital areas.

In line with the National Immunisation Programme, Hertfordshire and East Anglia Community and School Aged Immunisation Service offers the HPV vaccination to all eligible boys and girls in year 8. This is a course of a single dose of the HPV vaccine. Children and young people who are immunosuppressed may require three doses.

Vaccinations are due to take place in the Summer term, and consent forms will be sent out closer to the time. When received, we would ask all parents/carers to complete the consent form regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. However we would also ask for the supporting information to be carefully read before completing the consent form.

Any queries in relation to this vaccination should be emailed directly to the team at [email protected] or by telephoning 0300 555 5055.

Additional Information:

NHS Information HPV vaccine information can be found here.

HPV Vaccine Patient Information Leaflet can be found here.

NHS HPV Leaflet can be found here.

Link for information in different languages can be found here.

The MenACWY vaccine is offered to young people in Year 9 and protects against meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal column) and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by meningococcal groups A,C,W and Y.

Vaccinations are due to take place in the Spring term, and consent forms will be sent out closer to the time. When received, we would ask all parents/carers to complete the consent form regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. However we would also ask for the supporting information to be carefully read before completing the consent form.

Any queries in relation to this vaccination should be emailed directly to the team at [email protected] or by telephoning 0300 555 5055.

Additional Information:

NHS Infection information can be found here.

NHS Vaccine information can be found here.

Link for information in different languages can be found here.

Protect yourself against meningitis and septicaemia leaflet can be found here.

The 3 in 1 Teenage Booster is offered to young people in Year 9, generally at the same time as the MenACWY vaccination, and boosts protection against tetanus, diphtheria and polio:

Tetanus is a painful disease affecting the nervous system which can lead to muscle spasms, cause breathing problems, and can kill. It is caused when germs found in the soil and manure get into the body through open cuts or burns. Tetanus cannot be passed from person to person.

Diphtheria is a serious disease that usually begins with a sore throat and can quickly cause breathing problems. It can damage the heart and nervous system, and in severe cases, it can kill.

Polio is a virus that attacks the nervous system which can cause permanent paralysis of muscles. If it affects the chest muscles or the brain, polio can kill.

Vaccinations are due to take place in the Spring term, at the same time as the Meningitis ACWY vaccinations, and consent forms will be sent out closer to the time. When received, we would ask all parents/carers to complete the consent form regardless of consent being given, as the form contains an option to decline the vaccination. However we would also ask for the supporting information to be carefully read before completing the consent form.

Any queries in relation to this vaccination should be emailed directly to the team at [email protected] or by telephoning 0300 555 5055.

Additional Information:

NHS vaccine information can be found here.

DTP Vaccine Patient Information Leaflet can be found here.

NHS Td/IPV Vaccination leaflet can be found here.

Link for information in different languages can be found here.

Ahead of vaccination sessions, the MMR vaccine status of a young person will be checked to see if any doses have been missed earlier in childhood. This vaccine is needed to provide protection against measles, mumps and rubella. If a dose has been missed this can also be given by the school-aged immunisation team, if they are able to. Alternatively, a referral is made to the young person’s registered GP practice.

Measles is a very infectious viral illness that is spread by coughs and sneezes. If you are not protected and have even passing contact with someone who has measles, the chances are that you will be infected too. If you catch measles you will probably feel very poorly and be off school or work for around 10 days. There is no treatment or cure for measles.

Mumps is a viral illness that is spread by coughs and sneezes or close contact with someone who already has the infection.

Rubella is a viral illness, often called German measles, that is now rare in the UK thanks to the success of the MMR vaccine. It is spread in a similar way to mumps and measles. For most people, it is usually a mild condition that gets better in 7 to 10 days without treatment.

If you are not sure if your child has been fully vaccinated against MMR please contact your local CSAIS team on [email protected] or by telephoning 0300 555 5055.

Additional Information:

NHS MMR Vaccination leaflet can be found here.

Link for information in different languages can be found here.

Link to ‘Think Measles’ leaflet can be found here.