Code Hamsters (Simple Platform Work Limited)
Version 1.0, approved 13 October 2026 by Mathew Long, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Next review: October 2027, or sooner after any incident or change in the law or guidance.
Please do not send your child to a session if they are unwell. Children work closely together and share keyboards and kits, so infections spread easily. Tutors follow the same rules.
1. When to keep your child at home
Keep your child at home if they:
- have been sick or had diarrhoea in the last 48 hours
- have a high temperature
- have an infection listed in section 2 and are still within the time shown
- are not well enough to concentrate and take part, whatever the cause
- have been told by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist to stay away from other children
A child with a mild cold, a runny nose or a slight cough who otherwise feels well can come. If your child was too ill for school that day, they are too ill for Code Hamsters.
If your child will miss a session, please let us know at matt@codehamsters.com or on +44 7877 742502. If they have one of the infections in section 2, please tell us which, so we can look out for other cases. Our refund policy explains what happens to missed sessions.
2. How long to stay away
We follow the UK Health Security Agency’s guidance, Health protection in children and young people’s settings. The most common infections are below. For anything not listed, we follow the agency’s table of exclusion periods, which always takes priority over this page.
| Illness | Stay away until |
|---|---|
| Diarrhoea or vomiting, including norovirus and food poisoning | 2 days (48 hours) after the last episode |
| High temperature, flu, COVID-19 or another respiratory infection | They no longer have a high temperature and feel well enough to take part |
| Chickenpox | At least 5 days after the rash appeared, and all the spots have scabbed over |
| Measles | 4 days after the rash started |
| Mumps | 5 days after the swelling started |
| Rubella (German measles) | 5 days after the rash started |
| Scarlet fever or strep A | 24 hours after starting antibiotics |
| Impetigo | The sores have crusted over, or 2 days (48 hours) after starting antibiotics |
| Whooping cough | 2 days after starting antibiotics, or 21 days from the start of the cough if not treated |
Children do not need to stay away for head lice, cold sores, conjunctivitis, hand, foot and mouth disease, slapped cheek or threadworms, as long as they feel well. Please treat head lice before the next session.
3. If your child becomes ill at a session
- The tutor moves them somewhere quiet where they can still be seen, and a first-aider looks after them.
- We phone you, or your emergency contacts if we cannot reach you, and ask you to collect your child as soon as you can.
- If it is an emergency we call 999 first and then phone you.
- If a child is sick or has diarrhoea, the tutor keeps other children away, cleans the area and any equipment with disposable cloths and disinfectant, wearing gloves, and washes their hands.
- We record what happened and what we did.
4. Medical conditions that are not infectious
Long-term conditions such as asthma, allergies, eczema, epilepsy and diabetes are not a reason to stay away. Tell us about them on the registration form when you book so we can agree how to support your child. See our health and safety policy.
5. Tutors
Tutors do not work when they are ill and follow the same exclusion periods. If a tutor is ill and we cannot provide another checked tutor, we cancel the session, tell you as soon as possible and provide a replacement session.
6. Preventing infection
- Children wash or sanitise their hands before using shared equipment and after using the toilet.
- We ask children to catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, bin it, and clean their hands.
- Keyboards, mice and kits are cleaned regularly, and after any child has been ill.
- Cuts and grazes are covered with a waterproof dressing.
- Rooms are kept ventilated where the venue allows.
7. Outbreaks
If several children or tutors in a group have the same illness, or we are told of a serious infection such as measles or meningitis, we take advice from the UK Health Security Agency’s local health protection team and follow it. We tell parents and carers what they need to know without naming any child. Please tell us if your child or someone at home has a weakened immune system or is pregnant, so that we can let you know quickly about infections such as chickenpox, measles or slapped cheek.