Children should sit out from contact sport for at least two weeks after being assessed as symptom-free following suspected concussion, new national guidelines say.

A coalition of Australian sport and medical bodies called Concussion in Sport Australia is set to begin bombarding grassroots sporting clubs with information about the signs of concussion in a bid to ensure teams understand when to remove athletes after a knock.

The group is also offering doctors an on-line learning module and a one-stop shop for resources including concussion recognition and assessment tools at concussioninsport.gov.au

In a government-funded position statement released this week, the group – comprising the AMA, the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP), Australian Institute of Sport and Sports Medicine Australia – says clubs should follow an “if in doubt, sit them out” policy around possible head injuries in children and adults.