nut free canteen or packed lunch?

[madrehayunasola]

Hello everyone.
My tree-nut allergic 4 year old is about to start reception. He goes to a wonderful local school, with a nut free policy (obviously many parents still send nutty snacks as they do not know, not take it serioulsy etc., ignorance) but the school staff is verry good aand they do as much as they can to make the school a nut free environment. I have to make a choice next week about whether to send a packed lunch or do canteen. I thought it was safer to choose canteen as he would then sit with all kids eating nut free food (I will still have a cht with the canteen staff to make sure it really is nut free food but as far as I know it is) and avoid eating next to (and trading food) packed lunch kids as who knows what other parents sent.
Any experience? Does this make sense?

It makes sense. I haven't had to face this yet as my DS is still little.

It's a great idea to talk to the canteen staff and dinner supervisors yourself so that you are absolutely sure they understand. Perhaps it would be a good idea to describe possible symptoms and make sure they know exactly where any emergency medication is (and that they can access it quickly).

Could there be a poster with your DS's picture somewhere in the kitchen? (out of sight of other kids) in case the regular cook is ill and someone stands in at short notice.

Perhaps this sounds a bit scaremongerly, but my experience of working in school kitchens (and some other settings where we gave snacks) is that nobody told me which children had allergies. Perhaps the regular staff knew but there was no system for making sure that anybody 'just filling in' was informed. But it sounds like your school is much more clued up than that, which is good.

Thanks greenbananas. Will definitely go to the kitchen and speak to them. I think everyone is fed the same so all children get nut free meals (no matter who they are). I have to make sure this is the case. There is an inclusion officer who is very good and she is in charge of Epipens, etc, so I need to find out if she is always around in the kitchen when kids are eating. Yes, the school tries really hard and they are brilliant. I am looking forward to my child being old enough to carry his own epipens anyway in his cargo trowsers pockets, as I do not like the fact that the school keeps them somewhere else (it is not a massive school, all in one floor, but that still worries me...)
Thanks!