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Vaccinations required to attend school and child care

Children who follow the routine childhood immunization schedule (Government of Ontario) will receive all the immunizations needed at the right time to attend school.

Having up-to-date immunizations helps ensure that children have the best protection possible against certain diseases and helps reduce the risk of disease outbreaks in schools and child care settings. Having up-to-date immunization records informs Public Health of vaccine coverage rates, which allows Public Health to act quickly should cases of vaccine preventable diseases occur in the school or child care setting. Children with incomplete immunization records may be excluded from school or child care during vaccine preventable disease outbreaks.

Immunizations required to attend school

The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) R.S.O.1990, requires all students to have proof of up-to-date immunizations (or appropriate exemption documents) for certain diseases for school attendance in Ontario.

Children enrolled in elementary or secondary school must have proof of immunization against the following diseases:

Immunizations required to attend licensed child care centres

The Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA), 2014, requires all children to have proof of up-to-date immunizations (or appropriate exemption documents) for certain diseases for licensed child care attendance in Ontario.

Children enrolled in licensed child care centres must have proof of immunization against the following diseases:

School-based immunization program

Public Health Sudbury & District offers school immunization clinics for students in grade 7. Meningococcal, Hepatitis B, and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) immunizations are offered during these clinics. Immunization clinics are held two times during the school year. As per the Immunization of School Pupils Act, immunization against meningococcal disease is required to attend school in Ontario.

Students require consent from a parent or guardian to receive these immunizations at school. Consent forms are sent home through your child’s school in early September. Please sign and return your child’s consent forms to the school within one week. Consent forms and fact sheets are also available for download below:

Eligible students that do not receive the vaccine at their school can get it through their health care providers or Public Health. If you do not have a health care provider, contact us to book an appointment.

For this age group, the vaccines are publicly funded and free of charge.

Reporting vaccinations

You have several options to report your child’s vaccinations to Public Health.

Vaccination exemptions

In some cases, a child may be exempt from immunization requirements due to medical or non-medical reasons. Please see our exemption page for more information.

In the event of an outbreak related to a vaccine preventable disease, your child may be excluded from child care or school to protect them and the community from the vaccine preventable disease that they are not immunized for.

This item was last modified on December 9, 2024