Nurseries have been told to remove teddy bears and other soft toys from the children in their care to help to contain the spread of swine flu.

Government guidelines also require that nurseries and schools stop children sharing crayons and colouring pencils during the pandemic, and suspend morning assemblies.

Officials said that the advice was sensible, but they were accused of overreacting and making it more difficult for staff to do their job properly.

The guidance, issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said that soft toys could not be cleaned effectively, so it was better to remove them. “Encourage the cleaning of hands and objects when passing round objects like musical instruments or toys. Because of the difficulty in cleaning soft toys adequately, remove communal soft toys. Do not allow children to share wind instruments,” it said.

“Avoid bringing children together in large crowds in enclosed spaces (eg whole-school assemblies).”

The department has issued equally stringent advice to 80,000 childminders, who have also been advised to remove soft toys. “Clean hard toys after use as the virus can survive on hard surfaces. Try to avoid children sharing soft toys, as these are hard to clean adequately; you may find it easier to avoid using soft toys altogether,” the guidelines said.

The National Day Nurseries Association said it hoped that teachers and carers would interpret the guidelines sensitively and not upset children by removing favourite toys.

“This is guidance, and nurseries will look at it to inform their own practices to minimise the risk of an outbreak. If a case [of swine flu] occurs a nursery may consider a temporary ban on soft items, or items from home, due to the difficulty of cleaning them after children have played with them and the risk that they will pass on infection,” Purnima Tanuku, the chief executive, said.

“We believe nurseries will work to ensure that there is minimal distress to children if they do need to do this, for example if a child has a favourite item they bring with them.”

But Nick Seaton, from the Campaign for Real Education, said: “I would have thought that watching out for coughing and sneezing and wiping surfaces was much more sensible than taking soft toys off young children.”

Strict rules have also been issued on what to do if a child develops symptoms of swine flu during the day. The child should be isolated immediately and a member of staff nominated to care for him or her. The adult in charge should remain one metre away from the child unless the child needs help. “If this happens, the staff member should wear a disposable apron and face mask,” it said.

A spokesman for the DCSF said the guidelines were common sense. “We are not suggesting taking all toys out of play settings, just to take care with the use of shared toys, which can be a way of spreading infection. This is about striking a sensible balance between continuing life as normal but also taking commonsense steps to protect children,” he said.

“The most important message is that parents should not take their children to play settings if the children have any flu-like symptoms.”

Details of the guidance came as the Department of Health was accused of being unprepared for the expected second wave of swine flu in the autumn. The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee said that ministers had failed to offer reassurances that NHS services could deal with the predicted surge, when several million people may become ill. The peers also said that the national swine flu helpline in England should have been set up sooner. However, the Department of Health said that the service could be launched only when levels of infection were “significant”.

Gillian Merron, the Health Minister, said: “To say that the National Pandemic Flu service has been delayed is untrue. The service was set up at the request of GPs and the NHS.”

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