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As your child prepares to start school, it’s important to make sure they are protected from preventable diseases. This guide will help you understand what vaccines your child needs, when to get them, and why they are so important. Vaccines are safe and help keep your child and others around them healthy.
Why are vaccines important?
Vaccines help protect your child from serious illnesses like measles, whooping cough, and polio. These diseases can cause severe illness, hospitalisation, and even death. Vaccines are your child’s best defence.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines help your child’s immune system fight off diseases. When your child gets a vaccine, their body learns to recognise and fight specific infections. If they ever encounter these diseases in the future, their body will know what to do to protect them.
What to expect after vaccination
Most children will have mild side effects, like:
- Fever
- Sore arm or redness at the injection site.
These side effects usually go away on their own within a few days. They are much milder and easier for your child to handle than the symptoms these illnesses can cause.
UK Immunisation Schedule for Children (2026)
The following is the UK National Immunisation Schedule for children, designed to protect them from serious diseases.
Vaccinations are given at different ages to ensure your child is protected throughout their early years.
It’s never too late to start or catch up on any missing vaccinations to protect your child, just contact your GP to discuss.
Check your child’s vaccination status
If your child hasn’t received all the listed vaccines above or you are unsure, it’s never too late to catch up. Please contact your GP practice to check if your child’s vaccinations are up to date.
If your child was vaccinated in another area or outside the UK, please take your childs vaccination records to your GP to enable them to update their records or you can also email a copy to your
local school immunisation team. Please include your child’s name, date of birth, GP surgery, and postcode and we will ensure their records are updated.
Liverpool School Immunisation Team: 0151 295 3833 or email mcn-tr
Sefton School Immunisation Team: 0151 247 6130 or email mcn-tr
Knowsley, Halton and St Helens schools: 0151 351 8805 or email mcn-tr
Each year, all children in primary school are offered the flu vaccination.
How the flu vaccine will be given
For most children, the flu vaccine is given in school as a nasal spray. If that is not suitable for a child, an injection can be given instead, usually into the muscle in the upper arm. Flu vaccinations are free.
Children with a health condition
Children with certain health conditions, even if well managed, are at higher risk of severe complications if they get flu. It is especially important that they are vaccinated every year.
What to expect after flu vaccination
Mild side effects: Some children might experience mild side effects, such as a runny nose, mild fever, or tiredness. These side effects are generally short lived.
Protection: It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to fully protect your child from the flu.
How to arrange the flu vaccine
The flu vaccination is offered in schools, and you will receive a link from the school every September. Please click on the link and complete a form for each child you have in school, even if you don’t want them to receive this recommended flu vaccine. This will prevent you from receiving further correspondence from the Immunisation Team.
If you would like to discuss your child’s vaccines, require a translator, or need help completing the
consent form, please contact your local immunisation team.
Consent forms can be found online and are to be completed in September while further information can be found on our Vaccination and Immunisation team's webpage.
Our patients matter
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust listens and responds to patients and their carers to help improve the services we deliver.
If you have any comments, compliments or concerns you can speak with a member of staff or contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints Team
Telephone: 0151 471 2377
Freephone: 0800 328 2941
Email: palsandcomplaints@merseycare.nhs.uk
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For more information please look at our primary school portal, which gives a wide variety of information regarding the health needs of your child.