Information for parents about self-consent for children

Self-consent is the process by which a young person makes their own informed decision about having a vaccine or immunisation.

For consent to be valid, a young person must understand what the vaccination entails, and show that they understand the vaccination risks and benefits.

People aged 16 or over are entitled to provide self-consent to their own treatment, unless there is significant evidence to suggest they are not able to.

Self-consent can be considered for any young person over the age of 13 years old if they are considered to be Gillick Competent.

Gillick competency is a process of assessment used to help assess whether a child has the maturity to make their own decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions.

Further information about Gillick competence and the assessment process can be found at: Gillick competence and Fraser guidelines | NSPCC Learning

All assessments for Gillick competency when providing vaccinations are carried out by a registered nurse, ensuring that the child’s wishes are included, and that the best interests of the child are prioritised.

The National Immunisation Schedule identifies the vaccinations that should be provided to all young people to provide protection against preventable diseases that can have a serious, life changing impact on health, or even cause death if they are contracted.

Each vaccination type requires separate consent to be provided.

Parent/carers are asked to provide consent, or to decline, each vaccination offered to their school aged child.

Where a consent response is not received by the School Aged Immunisation Service, this is followed up by the team to try and obtain the parent/carer’s decision.

If the team are unable to contact the parent/carer, they will offer the child the opportunity to provide their own consent, if assessed as competent to do so using the Gillick competency assessment.  This ensures that all children have the same opportunity as others to receive their vaccinations if they chose to.

By supporting young people to self-consent, it ensures that those who want the protection are able to access it.

This also empowers young people to take a pro-active step towards supporting their health.

All young people are provided with a range of resources about the vaccination that is being offered to them. These are designed to be accessible for young people aged 13 – 19 yrs olds

The information shared is from evidence based, validated sources, including:

NHS.Gov website

Joint Committee of Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI)

Websites with information that is verified by the World Health Organisation

The information is provided using leaflets, websites, and videos where available, and can be accessed in a range of different languages.  The nurse also discusses with vaccination with each child prior to completing a consent form.

The School Aged Immunisation Service works in partnership with schools and colleges.

Resources may be distributed by your child’s school/college

An assembly or dedicated lessons about vaccinations may be delivered as part of the schools PSHE programme proving information and opportunities to ask questions about vaccinations and their effectiveness.

Information from the School Aged Immunisation Service may be shared in partnership with your child’s school to their school email address

An immunisation nurse may attend your child’s school to deliver an assembly to the appropriate year group about the vaccination being offered, informing about the disease, the vaccination, and how vaccination protects the individual.

Prior to vaccination information about the vaccine being offered is shared in verbal and written formats. The young person will then be given time to read and digest this, before discussing next steps with a registered nurse.  The nurse will discuss the vaccination with the young person to determine their understanding and answer any questions.

Where self-consent is being considered, and the young person is not assessed to be Gillick competent, they will be provided with further information to support their understanding and will be invited to return to see the nurse at a later date once they have had time to read and digest the information fully.

Yes, all information shared is accessible on our website: School Age Immunisations

If you wish to a copy of any correspondence sent directly to your child, please ask them to share this with you.

If the young person expresses a wish to receive their vaccination, the self-consent process can be used to provide it.  Discussion between the parent/carer and young person are always encouraged so that they can share their views and the reason for their choices.

If the young person does not want to discuss their consent with their parent/carer, their wishes are respected, and the vaccination will be given if they are assessed as Gillick competent.

All young people who have not received all the recommended vaccinations by the end of school year 11 will be offered the opportunity to make their own decision, including those where a parent has previously declined the vaccination on their behalf.  This ensures that they have been provided with the opportunity to make their own informed choice.

It is important to discuss all vaccinations with your child and review the validated information together.
Allow time for discussion, and for any questions to be answered.
Direct your child to the appropriate resources to support their knowledge and decision making.
Ensure discussions are non-judgemental and support your child’s views and wishes.
Where agreement cannot be achieved, ensure that the decision made by your child is respected, and provide any support that is required.

Yes. This process is legal and ensures that the views of the child/young person are heard and that they can exercise their right to provide consent to treatment.

All vaccinating nurses and vaccinators follow the National Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct, as well as national guidance and standards.

Gillick competency assessment is a process and carried out for each separate vaccination.   Self-consent is only used where the young person has been assessed as Gillick competent, and this is documented on their consent form.

It is important that all young people are offered the opportunity to receive vaccinations if they are Gillick Competent.  If you have strong feelings that your child should not be vaccinated, please discuss this with them directly.  The nurses will ask each child about their parents’ views as part of the Gillick Competency process, and encourage and support discussion with parents where appropriate in the best interests of the child.

Part of the process is to determine your child’s wishes.  They can decide whether the information is shared with their parent/carer, or if it is not.  All vaccinations provided are recorded on the child’s medical records.

The nurses encourage young people to share their vaccination status with their parents and will support with this if required.

All young people who self-consent are provided with details of where to access the HCRG Care Group privacy policy and are informed of how their information will be used and stored.