Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Nightmare lunch box type ban at school

319 replies

lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:33

DS is 7 and attends a special school.

They have a new pupil coming in and the new list of banned foods are things containing -

Peanuts
Cashews
Sesame
Milk
Wheat
Barley
Almond
Pork

They announced this on our class up this afternoon and no further instruction! But they insist on DS having packed lunch and not school dinners since he likes lunches better because he's seen other kids having crisps etc

My DS has an allergy of sesame and his other classmate was peanuts. The other allergies are all from one child

This isn't to slag off a poor child. I just wish they'd give more notice than a Thursday afternoon

OP posts:
Viviennemary · 26/01/2023 16:35

Thats far too long a list of banned foods. I don't know what the answer is. Nuts fair enough. But no bread??

FavouriteSlippers · 26/01/2023 16:37

My ds has a few of them allergies. But apart from nuts the others are non ige therefore not immediate risk. I. Wouldn't expect others to have to work around that. As that's very restricted

Motelschmotel · 26/01/2023 16:38

Ouch. That's going to be tricky. Wheat is going to be the killer: no sandwiches? I've never heard of an airborne allergy to wheat, tbh.

Milk will also mean no cheese or yogurts! and pork means no ham! Roast chicken tortilla wraps, I guess? Sushi bento box? That's a bit ridiculous tbh.

Once the child is in, I would reach out to the parents directly and ask if the school is overreaching and if these rules really are necessary. It's entirely possible that the school has asked the parents to fill in a form including a question re allergies, and then the school has just banned all these things from lunchboxes as a matter of "policy". It's highly restrictive though, these things are nuanced.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

7 year olds General education
SarahMused · 26/01/2023 16:39

By banning wheat and milk most packed lunch foods are completely out! No sandwiches, wraps, pasta, yoghurts or cheese. Have they made any suggestions about what you could include as an alternative? I wonder whether school dinners are going to be this restricted too? Surely would be more sensible to have the child with the multiple allergies eating in a separate space rather than limiting everyone’s food choices.

Original poster
lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:40

I think the big issues really is this is a class of children with severe special needs Sad most have limited diets

OP posts:
emmathedilemma · 26/01/2023 16:41

chicken and rice it is then, with a boiled egg on the side.

Deathbyfluffy · 26/01/2023 16:42

That seems unreasonable - I'd be questioning it further.
No sandwiches, sausage rolls, ham etc - seems way OTT

SarahMused · 26/01/2023 16:43

Seeing your update surely they need to balance the requirements of all the children. What happens to the kid that will only eat ham sandwiches and a yoghurt? Presumably they just don’t get to eat.

SoupDragon · 26/01/2023 16:43

i had no idea people could be allergic to pork!

FatAgainItsLettuceTime · 26/01/2023 16:46

lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:40

I think the big issues really is this is a class of children with severe special needs Sad most have limited diets

Do they have issues with kids eating each others food?

That's the only reason I can think of for such a restrictive list as I'm pretty sure these wouldn't all be severe allergies from air/touch on surfaces.

Googleplexa · 26/01/2023 16:46

Wow, that's tough, pork is an unusual allergy.

I'd ask the school for more guidance especially re wheat. What are the school planning on giving the school dinner kids if they also need to avoid these?

JustKeepSlimming · 26/01/2023 16:47

SoupDragon · 26/01/2023 16:43

i had no idea people could be allergic to pork!

People can be allergic to pretty much anything, but I've never heard of someone being allergic to someone else eating pork (or milk, or wheat) - peanuts etc yes, because something in there is airborne, but I'm not convinced about the rest.

Disclaimer: I have no allergy expertise

WhoNeedsSleepNotISaidMyBody · 26/01/2023 16:48

SoupDragon · 26/01/2023 16:43

i had no idea people could be allergic to pork!

Me either.

some of those things would be an issue if other people ate them, just the child themselves.

parents have misled or school has misunderstood. Ask them how the child can possibly be allergic to another child eating pork?!🙄🙄

Original poster
lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:50

emmathedilemma · 26/01/2023 16:41

chicken and rice it is then, with a boiled egg on the side.

Lol most these kids wouldn't touch that

OP posts:
WhoNeedsSleepNotISaidMyBody · 26/01/2023 16:50

Oh & as their excuse for making DS take packed lunch is the he prefers them (I'd have told them to mind their own) but as he's not going to enjoy them now, they can have the pleasure of providing lunch!

Original poster
lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:51

I have heard of someone dying on a plane because someone at something milky near them and their allergy was anaphylactic airborne

So it's possible. But I think this needs to be managed better. School dinners eat in a separate room unless there's a key worker shortage so won't really be impacted by the change and it's more easily sorted that way

OP posts:
WestOfWestminster · 26/01/2023 16:52

Are the school dinners also going to avoid all these ingredients too? Seems highly unlikely especially given the range of items.

SchoolTripDrama · 26/01/2023 16:52

Wheat?! Nope that's ridiculous. My child has Autism and will ONLY eat cheese sandwiches for lunch so they'd be discriminating against her!
They cannot insist that all other kids be gluten free just because the new kid has an intolerance ffs! Absolute nonsense

SoupDragon · 26/01/2023 16:54

They cannot insist that all other kids be gluten free just because the new kid has an intolerance ffs!

whist I do agree that making everyone go gluten free is excessive, it is not necessarily an "intolerance". If the child is coeliac they can be made ill through cross contamination by crumbs for example.

WestOfWestminster · 26/01/2023 16:55

Ok just seen your update. There has to be a better solution to this, perhaps the children thay do have those items in their lunchbox could join the school dinners room.

I think the school would be lulling themselves into a false sense of secuity by implementing this policy, as dairy for example is in so many items its very likely it will be in people's lunchboxes without them even realising.

Googleplexa · 26/01/2023 16:57

lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:51

I have heard of someone dying on a plane because someone at something milky near them and their allergy was anaphylactic airborne

So it's possible. But I think this needs to be managed better. School dinners eat in a separate room unless there's a key worker shortage so won't really be impacted by the change and it's more easily sorted that way

If its an airborne allergy/very serious then there is still a risk with the school dinner kids as they may have food on them; they shouldn't have a bread roll for example.

I'm struggling to think of a carb for lunch other than rice/lentils etc - not exactly something most 7 year old are desperate to eat.

I feel for the parents, one of my dcs has a number of food allergies and its a PITA at times but her most serious ones are foods that are easy to avoid on a day to day basis (apricots is one so it's unlikely parents at school would quibble that).

JudithHarper · 26/01/2023 17:03

I would not be complying with that list. It's up to the new kids parents to find a workaround.

SchoolTripDrama · 26/01/2023 17:04

SoupDragon · 26/01/2023 16:54

They cannot insist that all other kids be gluten free just because the new kid has an intolerance ffs!

whist I do agree that making everyone go gluten free is excessive, it is not necessarily an "intolerance". If the child is coeliac they can be made ill through cross contamination by crumbs for example.

Then special arrangements should be made for that child, rather than impacted all the other kids in a special school - ie kids very likely to have sensory issues/Autism and an already extremely restrictive diet like my DD. She would quite literally starve to death (genuinely no exaggeration) if it wasn't for cheese sandwiches at lunchtime and macaroni cheese at dinner time. Cannot be swapped round either. She'd just not eat. Ever again

x2boys · 26/01/2023 17:05

lunchme · 26/01/2023 16:50

Lol most these kids wouldn't touch that

Show quote history

Can only speak for my own severely autistic child,who also attends a special school,but I think he would actually love that meal ,he loves .rice,and boiled eggs and will eat a bit of chicken 😂

DrMarciaFieldstone · 26/01/2023 17:06

I’d be very surprised if pork is an allergy…

Swipe left for the next trending thread