School telling us to remove nut trees from community orchard

[Calling]

We are in a local voluntary group and local people planted an orchard in the grounds of a school, for the school.

Now, the school has written to say that we have to remove the nut trees because one pupil has a bad nut allergy.

There are fruit and nut trees, that the local people planted some years ago and we have put a lot of work into weeding and watering. The yield was actually for the kids and we are volunteering with the school with and nature sessions outside.

Before anyone says we are potential child killers, we do understand the importance of safety. There is a management plan in place, but the school has been asked by a parent to remove our trees.
I do feel disheartened - nobody in the school said no to nut trees originally.

Ha! But some people hate trees.

I am so disheartened - we worked so hard.

Yeah, make it all about yourself and how you feel darling. Dont mind the poor alergy kid. If he dies, it will only be one child right. One!!

https://anaphylaxis.org.uk/education/safer-schools-programme/

Have a look at this link to the anaphylaxis association to see what schools are advised to do regarding creating an allergy aware environment.

It might be worth you contacting them to see whether they can advise you over whether this is a proportionate response, or advise you over what you should do.

You’re being ridiculous and going against current advice.

Children can bring nuts from other trees. They are quite common.

This is true.
Should we start a witch hunt against all nut trees?

No. They haven't.

The school can certainly pay someone to do it though. You're not obliged to provide free labour.

Actually, I think they need to cull all the squirrels in case a rogue one decides to drop a nut in the playground!

Honestly, how far do you go!

If you're trying to act for the benefit of the school, you need to listen to the school when they say the nuts are not providing a benefit. You can either remove the trees, tell the school to find someone else to remove them while you continue to care for the other trees, or hand the land back completely.

If you want to be able to use the land for your choice of trees, for your own/wider community benefit, I don't think the school would be unreasonable in making you rent the land.

😮😮😮

I don't mind nut trees but would very much like a witch hunt against all dairy and gluten. Please.

If a school is nut free. How do you stop a child having peanut butter etc on toast or I porridge etc before school?
Because my nephew has peanut allergies and his Grandad had peanuts in the morning had washed their hands etc.
But my nephew came out in hives sitting next to his grandad!
He kept getting really close and grabbing his Grandad face!
The Grandad was horrified and threw everything in the bin!

Op has no right to question the schools decision. At all.

But schools are in loco parentis, they have to take the same care for a child that the parents would.

Children are considered too young to manage their allergies themselves, they depend on adults to keep them safe, which is why schools are nut free.

Outside of school, parents can keep their child away from nut trees, if required, they have that choice, so it doesn’t matter if nut trees grow outside schools. If the nut tree is in school grounds, the school risks exposing the child to an allergen that the parent would keep away from their child. They are not giving the child the level of care and safety that the parent would consider appropriate, and are not acting in loco parentis.

But can leave it to the school to take care of the garden and trees from now on.

Hmm, I know you are joking, so ... should we exterminate all cows and other milk-givers such as buffalos and goats? Should we cut down all wheat fields?
How far should we go as a society?

Buy yet schools having children with epipens for milk schools aren't dairy free. Talk about double standards.

I do have that right and I will.

Absolutely. It's not ops responsibility to remove the trees either imo.

Would any school consider banning gluten for a celiac child? They can be made quite unwell and repeated exposure can cause long term damage.

Just to be clear,
The orchard is on school property, you call it a community orchard so can other people go into it and collect fruit and just walk among it.
Therefore it is school or council property I think.
This could be put on Facebook or local SocMed and the parents with the problem should be invited to contact you, in confidence of course.
However much we sympathise with the allergic person one problem should not dictate what happens in a community. Other schools should be available to the parents of the child.

Emphasise that the orchard was done for the very best of intentions by volunteers.
But don't be surprised if one day a council workman turns up with a chainsaw.

Lactating mothers?

Schools can't give the level of 1:1 care a parent provides. That's why EHCPS and 1:1s exist. Loco parentis doesn't mean what you think it does.

We need to work out strategies if we have an epipen for whatever reason.
Only safe thing to do.

School never banned milk or gluten because of me. Neither has my work places of course done.