What is wrong with my son's school? Aargh!!

[Maggie198]

My son, and his friend, are both allergic to milk, eggs, nuts, fish and many more. So last night I go to get my son from school and the teacher tells me they are having a food tasting today. All the other children will be eating fish, seafood, crustaceans molluscs and so on. My son doesn't have to. Am I over-reacting to think this is just craziness? 30 children pottering about with mouths all smeared in fishy stuff? (Teacher assures me that they will be careful about washing hands.) Should they not have sought parental permission from all parents before doing this (lord knows how many other kids might be allergic to seafood but not yet realise it). What are your views on taking my son out of school on the day of the tasting? Am I reasonable if I go off on one about this, or am I just an over-anxious mother? Any advice on how to get the allergy message across to school would be helpful, thank you.

I think you should take your DS out of school on that day and tell them why. BUT I don't think the other children should not get to taste shellfish and other seafood beacuse some may be or are allergic.

Its like nobody being allowed to wear perfume in an office because someone else is allergic...I understand it is very stressful bt the world can't change...it's importnt for kids to get to taste different foods and many only get to try chicken nuggets and chips and never anything new or dfferent.

I would love our school to have a day like the one you describe.

I'm with AwkwardMary. While I can completely understand why you're worried, I don't think the rest of the class should have to miss out on the food tasting just because two of their classmates are allergic. This could be a wonderful opportunity for some of the children to try something they may never get at home and even possibly to discuss allergies with the class. DS's school did noodles and soy sauce tasting for Chinese New Year and a lot of the children ate them when they never would at home.

As for taking your Son out of school - on the one hand, the allergy could be with him for life and it might be good for him to see and practice avoiding his allergens but then he's hardly likely to ever be a regular visitor to fish restaurants either so there's no need to place him in harms way....

How old is he?

I have no issues with schools being nut free for allergies, however I think that unfortunately for your ds on this occasion, it's something you'll have to just go along with. I'll probably get a flaming for this, however, for as much as I'm all for integration for children with disabilities (mental and physical) I do believe there comes a point where the needs of the majority v that of 1 child has to be taken into account.
It's unfortunate that your ds has these allergies, but I think the food tasting sessions can be very beneficial for lots of children

Likewise I have NO problem with nut free...I know how dangerous that can be...so it woud be silly and self indulgent for a parent like me to insist on my childs right to take nuts to school....but fish? What do you do when the school dinner hall are serving fish or fishcakes? Keep him home? What about if someone takes sushi in their packed lunches as they do at my DD school?

Maybe blether is right and your DS needs to go just to practice avoiding it...but then that would be very stressful...so I think keep him home.

The two children could have a tasting day of their own - maybe some exotic fruits? so they can echo what their class mates are doing - I don't think the rest of the school should have to alter everything for the two boys or get permission from you.

It does sound like it would be wise for them to be off if their allergies are serious on that day though. Many schools go over the top on allergies such as making those children dine separately and so on which only encourages that child to try to break the rules and risk a reaction - a balanced approach is healthy. So a school which does something adventurous is not a bad school - but your son doesn't have to be there for that particular activity. I am sure most of their other activities will be OK for him.

Depends on the age of the children and the severity of the allergies but I'd be inclined to keep him home or ask if he can go to another class for the day.

this is EXCLUSION and is not a safe activity for your child. even if you take the child out of class, are they going to be sure the food isnt going to be wide spread around the room?

The teacher needs to adapt the curriculum to fit the needs of all in class, and the food choices need to be changed.

this is NOT acceptable. Talk to the teacher, talk to the head, this lesson plan needs to change.

I can understand your concern so perhaps you could ask for your child be put Into a different class for the day or get the teachers to send him home with some work the night before so that he can stay home for the day. It is a little unfair to expect the other children to be not able to do these things and it could easily next time be a tasting of something else ur son joins in on but another child can't. People can become allergic to anything at any time so a reaction to a food could just as easily happen in the dining hall as it could on a tasting session and you can't not Feed them
Lunch. :)

So unless every child can do an activity no-one should!? There are so many possible restrictions a child may suffer that could effect so many activities you cannot apply that logic nationwide - it is overbearing and unrealistic.

I had a jehovah witness friend at school was wasn't allowed to join in the annual nativity - weeks of rehearsals and everything - was that also exclusion?

It is one activity

However, the school do need to give some thought as to how thoroughly they clean up - to prevent cross-contamination and inadvertent exposure but a simple effective risk assessment analysis and action plan should aid that process.

I reckon this is another one of those things that people think isn't an issue because in their minds only nut allergies are serious. If the teacher was proposing a nut tasting sessions in a class with two kids who had serious nut allergies and you posted on here asking if that was reasonable, I think you'd get a different response.

FWIW, I don't think you are being unreasonable to be concerned about this. I'd want the answers to lots of questions about how they will ensure that e.g. it doesn't get smeared on desks etc before deciding whether I could be comfortable with it.

with jehovah witness religion, THE PARENTS are choosing to exclude their child, this is different, the teacher is pushing by not including this child, to exclusion. This does not follow national curriculm guidelines/ofsted etc.

shell fish? for asthmatic people allergic to shellfish can result in airbourne reaction.

how does this teacher handle food cookery lessons in class? are they inclusive? or does the teacher think that its easier to exclude the child?
this is a very important subject with many overlapping lessons in maths and science,
and its more important for an allergic child to take part, after all, they will need decent cooking skills as they cant walk in to any resturant or eat any random convience meal.

Just wanted to say that I don't believe in blanket bans of any description but seafood testing seems a very odd choice to me given that it is a very common allergen but one that very few primary school children in the UK will have tasted before - could be potentially disastrous, what if it turns out a few children are allergic to seafood but never knew?

My other comment is why oh why do people think nut free schools are a good idea but banning any other food is totally unreasonable, unfair and against children's human rights?! Nut allergy is NOT more serious than any other allergy no matter what people may think. I personally don't believe in nut free schools, mainly because it's impossible to police properly and leads to complacency but also because it gives the impression that only nut allergies matter. Anyone ever heard of a milk, egg or wheat free school? Thought not...

Most schools also encourage children not to share lunches for allergy reasons and production methods make it very difficult to ensure food is free of any number of allergens eggs milk nuts sesame soya etc unless schools police every pupils kitchen cupboards u can't Garuntee that everything ( including the school dinners) is free of any kind of cross contamination all schools can really do is mAke sure staff are aware of children who have allergies and warn parents accordingly.some staff may also be trained in first aid ressussatation and how to use an epi pen.

as always topics about food, schools and allergies always seem to bring out comments in favour of nut bans and 'tough luck' to anyone who may be seriously allergic to anything else :(

As some others have said, fish tasting does seem an odd subject to be covered at school but it looks like it is out of your hands this time.

At the very least I would have expected your DS's teacher to have made prior contact with you to let you know what the plans were and have given you the opportunity to express how you would like things to be handled.

My DD has a severe allergy to cows milk (reacts on contact and will have an anaphylactic reaction if she ingests it) and I had problems with getting the school to properly consider the issues over party food at her Christmas party last year. However, after several discussions with them I felt happy enough that she could go to the party and be surrounded (safely) by food that could potentially cause her problems.

So I guess what I'm saying is that your school should have contacted you in plenty of time to let you know the plans. You should have been allowed to review them and point out areas where you felt your DS was particularly at risk and asked them how they intended to address your concerns. If they weren't able to satisfy you then they should have come up with a plan for what your DS and his friend could have done whilst the tasting was going on. I don't know how old your DS is but perhaps they could have done some other activity about fish/shellfish etc so they could at least understand what different types of seacreatures there are even if they can't taste them

you are definitely not over reacting to the situation

Well said mintyneb, totally agree.

Eragon, Freefrommum and mintyneb, completely agree with you.

All this tolerance of nut allergies makes people think they understand allergies as they 'accept' this. But is reality, I think it makes it harder for people who suffer from allergies as those people assume it can't be as bad as nuts, otherwise, the other foods would be banned as well. DD's allergist told us that yes nut allergies are scary and can be fatal but it's by no means the only food that can cause a serious reaction.

I am allergic to Shellfish and I also think it is a really odd thing for a school to have a tasting of. It can be as nasty as a nut allergy and can also be fatal.

ALso, washing kids hands is fine but alot of schools use the antibac gels which I don't think are good enough. You also need to wipe down surfaces and wash around the mouth and ensure kids have a drink of water to ensure that cross contamination from kids putting things to their mouths don't occur. Schools don't seem to do this.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do, but it is crap that you are possibly going to be forced to keep your child at home.

What eragon says is ridiculous....change the curriculum because one or two DC can't take part? What do schools do when a disabled chld cannot take part in certain activities? Ban the sports?

You cannot arrange things to include everyone but you can make arrangements to ensure no child feels forgotten.

so maggie198 how did it go. Did you send your DS to school on the day of the tasting?

i would have been questioning the cleanup TBH as thepotential for cross contamination from fingers tasting then using pencils to write, or touching the door handles on the way to wash their hands about it is rife.

My DS school have always contacted me way in advance ( lots of allergies too) to discuss their plans and work out alternatives if possible.
eg when it was chocolate tasting I had DS and 2 other nut allergic children in the staff room doing similar experiments and tasting with suitable ingredients.

actually Akwardmary the current curriculum , has inclusion as a huge part.
just as ramps , lifts, are put in schools, so can sports be adapted to those with special needs.

humans can eat a very varied amount of food, so from a curriculum planning point of view this lesson should be planned to include the needs of all children.

school staff have a duty of care, outlined in the 'medicines in schools and early years settings' to include the care of children in the school and curriculum.
what is the difference between not putting a ramp in the school for a wheelchair bound child, and this child who for their own safety cant be in the room with his allergens?
both are restricted by the adults who are paid and trained to give access to all children to education.

My ds's school would never do this - they would make sure it was foods that wouldn't cause a problem. If the school aren't co operative OP I would keep him at home.

Is this organised by the school catering company?

I have had a letter home from school to say they are doing this after easter and if children have allergies to fill in the form.

1. they should have these records anyway in school

and

2. we have no idea!! All I know is tomato ketchup sets off DS and so I will say no tomato products at all to be safe. Oh and he's having coeliacs blood test next week so it may be no gluten either