Vaccinations for school-age children

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Secondary school children walking through school corridor

Immunisation protects children from illnesses that can be very harmful, like measles, polio and meningitis.

Getting your child vaccinated protects them, and also protects other people including, parents, friends and older relatives, who may be at high risk.

Vaccines offered to school-aged children

Children will be offered four vaccinations during their school years. You can read about these below or watch this animation.

A handy guide to the vaccine timeline for school children is below:

MenACWY vaccine

The MenACWY vaccine helps protect against life-threatening illnesses like meningitis and sepsis. It’s offered to teenagers in school, but can be given up to the age of 25 if it’s been missed.

The MenACWY vaccine is recommended for all teenagers. It’s usually given to children when they’re 13 or 14 years old (school year 9).

If you missed having the vaccine when you were at school, you can get it up to the age of 25 years.

It’s also available for some people who are at increased risk of getting meningitis because of:
- a medical condition
- work
- travel
- close contact with someone who’s infected.
For more information visit the NHS website.

HPV vaccine

The HPV vaccine helps protect against human papillomavirus (HPV). It’s recommended for children aged 12 to 13 years old and people at higher risk from HPV.

The HPV vaccine reduces your chances of getting human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that’s spread through skin contact (usually when having sex).

Most types of HPV are harmless. But some types are linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer, including:
HPV can also cause genital warts.

For more information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine visit the HPV Inform website.

MMRV vaccine

The MMRV vaccine helps protect children against measles, mumps, rubella (german measles) and chickenpox (varicella). These infections spread easily and can lead to serious problems including meningitis, blindness and hearing loss.

If your child or teenager has not had the MMR or MMRV vaccine, or has only had one dose, speak to your GP surgery about getting them fully vaccinated as soon as possible.

There are two types of MMRV vaccine – one does not contain any gelatine (pork). You can ask for the vaccine with no pork products from your GP, for you or your children.

Real stories: Vaccination

Watch this animation, based on a true story from Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

Have you missed a vaccine?

The School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) provides vaccinations for primary and secondary school children across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, including those in home or special education.

Children in Reception to Year 13 who have missed vaccinations can attend community catch-up clinics by calling 0300 124 0366. Visit our School Age Immunisation Service Community Vaccination Clinics page for more information.

Find out more

Visit our vaccinations for babies and pre-school children page to find out how you can protect your baby in their first few years after birth.

There is more about which jabs are advised while pregnant on our vaccinations during pregnancy page.

Still got questions, want to download resources or need information in another language? Visit our campaign resource centre.

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