Starting school: Obligatory jabs

WITH the rentrée scolaire (return to school) this month, parents should have made sure their offspring have all the vaccinations required.

In France there are three vaccinations that are legally compulsory for children entering school for the first time. They will also have to show they have had them if moving to a different school later on.

Unlike in the UK where parents can decide not to vaccinate their children, parents do not have a choice in France and schools can suspend a child’s start until proof of vaccinations is supplied. In France, vaccinations are carried out at doctors’ clinics and at free sessions organised by the local mairies.

The obligatory vaccinations are:
- diphtheria (dipthérie)
- tetanus (tétanus)
- polio (poliomyélite)

Another five are strongly recommended. They are:
- mumps (oreillons)
- measles (rougeole)
- rubella (rubeole)
- whooping cough (coqueluche)
- tuberculosis (tuberculose).

It is the first year that a tuberculosis vaccination has not been compulsory. However school heads can request it or children arriving from an area of the world with a higher than usual risk. A child who has attended school in the UK will have already been offered all of these vaccinations.

To prove their child has been vaccinated, parents of children vaccinated in France will have a carnet de santé which they will present. The British equivalent is called a Health Record Book, and this is acceptable proof of vaccination if the child has already had the ones required. If you register with your mairie, they will send reminders about vaccinations at the appropriate times and information about public vaccination sessions on offer.

How to enroll your child in school for the first time

Although children starting school this month will have been enrolled at the start of the summer, those with younger children may be thinking about the options for next year. As in the UK, they include state or private schooling although in France private schooling is often chosen for religious reasons rather than academic. Children can be enrolled in an école maternelle from three years old or even two if there is space and they are considered mature enough to cope.

Catchment

To enroll your child in an école publique (state school) for the first time, you should consult your mairie. If you would like them to go to a school out of your catchment area (which is not a right) you need to apply for a dérogation, again to the mairie, unless the school is in a different commune when you should consult the mairie of that commune. For help with problems relating to enrolment, you need to contact the inspection académique for your department.

Your mairie will require documents including ID and proof of age for the child, proof of address and proof of vaccinations. They will give you a certificat d’inscription, which you need to take to the school along with documents including a doctor’s note saying the child is fit to start school. Your child should be enrolled at least by the June preceding their start school in September.