Public Health England is clear that routinely taking the temperature of pupils is not recommended as this is an unreliable method for identifying coronavirus (COVID-19).  However, we are constantly advised that high temperature is one of the covid-19 symptoms, and that children must stay away from school if they have a temperature. 

My petition is to seek government agreement on making it mandatory for every school in England to start temperature checking all their pupils at entry to their place of education.

Temperature screening can be done cheaply through non contact infrared thermometers, to help detect a temperature in individuals. While temperature may not be present in all covid-19 cases it is still a common symptom.  It would be a precautionary assessment to determine if an individual should be sent home, and encouraged to take a test rather than risking the spread further of what could potentially be covid-19.

I have reluctantly sent my child back to school and gone against everything that I believe in by way of fully protecting the safety and wellbeing of my child.  Introducing mandatory temperature checking in schools would add an additional safety precaution to the current hand and respiratory hygiene, and in turn alleviate a lot of worry and anxiety amongst the thousands of parents, in addition to supporting the government efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.