or have the school gone bonkers?

[ohballs2013]

got a letter last night, in the new teacher info pack.
the school have said that as of the new school term a few more items have been added to the not allowed in lunch box list.
we already had the normal,
no nuts
no fizzy drinks
no bars of chocolate

now we also have

no bananas
no berry fruit, including anything containing berry fruit, such as smoothies, youghurts, cereal bars etc
no fish
no eggs
no crisps
no citrus fruits
no peices of meat, ie chicken legs.

now i get that you have to protect as many kids with allergies as possible..but WTF. is it not going a bit mad?
my own child has coeliacs, so i know all about limited diets, but im astonished at this.

Remember we don't have access to medical details and op has only been given a brief explanation she's not entitled to know everything.

Yes, and I am basing my thoughts on what was posted. Which is all you can ever do on an internet forum.

Regardless, what seems to be clear is that the items are banned from packed lunches and not school dinners.

I haven't said I agree with the school banning everything. God knows I'd struggle with that list as much as anyone else.

I'm merely saying that I wouldn't have thought that having a "stuff it" attitude is the impression anyone Would want to give the parents of the child or the school. Just think it can be done nicely that's all. After all everyone wants the same thing. For their child to be able to have a healthy packed lunch and to not endanger other children in doing so.

I think parents who are being forced into giving their chil a restricted diet do have a right to know why, and it seems to me it would make more sense for them to fully understand it anyway. If they know the real risks, it would be easier for them to work around it and comply.

For example, a carton containing a strawberry and banana smoothie might be high risk because the cartons can drip or leak easily, but a jam sandwich or one of those little banana malt loaf things might be an easily manageable low risk.

A school simply cannot expect parents to adhere to such strict restrictions without giving them any assistance or information that will help them comply.

If the OP is going to struggle to follow this - I would too because DD has her own special diet to deal with, just like OPs kids - then she needs to speak up, and encourage everyone else to speak up, because otherwise the parents are going to have a false sense of security that everything is sorted re avoiding allergens and it isn't.

The other thing is that it's a Jr school, the kids will be 7+ I don't understand how they haven't got a proper diagnosis yet, or why they aren't being expected to manage their allergies more - a skill they will need growing up.

My take on this is that when the lunchbox police start with this stand their main priority is to get kids onto School Meals to raise revenue for the school, but I am probably being paranoid!

I'd also be interested to know I what the school would actually do if a child had brought in a packed lunch that contained a banned ingredient.

Would they allow a child to go hungry by taking their lunch away from them, or would they sit the child in isolation, or what?

They will have to come up with some kind of strategy, because if they continue with this, it will happen at some point.

We have a nut ban in our school, and even though it's a small school with parents who are generally very supportive, we still have children bringing in nuts or peanut butter sandwiches on occasion.

Highly unlikely to have been the advice from the medical establishment. If the allergies are causing severe reactions then it is likely testing would pick up and these are so broad based that they will have been able to narrow it down. Also if they were suggesting a blanket ban they would get the testing in pre September. If the medics were suggesting it (which they won't be) they would suggest banning everything from site.

Maybe the parents who have requested this can make all the pack lunches : )

Why do primary schools think that they have to ban certain foods to help with children's allergies. When the child gets to high school, they will have to cope, high schools don't seem to ban foods - they advise on healthy eating.

I think the school needs to be clear on whether or not the allergy child suffers when they come into contact or if it is digested. If it is contact then how on earth do the family cope when out and about? Does the child have anything like an epi-pen? if not then it would suggest that the doctors don't feel that it will effect the child seriously.

OP, you need to write to the school, CCing in the Governors, requesting the following:

1. A copy of the risk assessment which concluded that a blanket ban was the ONLY feasible method of managing the situation
2. A list of suggested suitable lunch box contents, bearing in mind your DCs' coeliac condition
3. A copy of the guidelines for staff which cover how they will deal with a breach of the lunch box conditions

Keep it factual and unemotive. Watch the school squirm as they realise how short-sighted and un-thought-through their response to this issue has been to date.

You will be doing every child and parent in your DCs' school a great service if by sending this letter, you encourage the school to THINK.

After all everyone wants the same thing. For their child to be able to have a healthy packed lunch and to not endanger other children in doing so.

And my point was that if school dinners do not endanger the allergic child, neither does someone else's packed lunch. It's not a "stuff it" attitude.

Why do primary schools think that they have to ban certain foods to help with children's allergies.

I understand it completely with KS1 children - they are all still learning. By KS2 they should be able to cope, in preparation for KS3 when they are on their own.

A wide ranging ban on foodstuffs for some children is barking though.

We have a nut ban in our school

Bullshit,

you have a bit of paper that says there is a nut ban,

so every slice of bread a child brings in has no nut oil in it?

this is a really dangerous way of pretending to deal with allergy problems,

OP, you need to write to the school, CCing in the Governors, requesting the following:

1) A copy of the risk assessment which concluded that a blanket ban was the ONLY feasible method of managing the situation
2) A list of suggested suitable lunch box contents, bearing in mind your DCs' coeliac condition
3) A copy of the guidelines for staff which cover how they will deal with a breach of the lunch box conditions

Do this ^^ what Selectausername suggests.

when our local primary school was stupid enough to go down the lets pretend route,

one of the things we did is empty the kitchen bins and made a pile of the items that contained nut oils,

Apparently they thought the children who brought home lunches parents should go and buy expensive nut free products, but basic supermarket bread was fine for the school to use, nearly every item the school used had nut oil in.

Send the email to the head, governors and find out who to contact at the county council send them the letter and email.

the school clearly need guidance and are too stupid to ask, be the adult for them and request it for them.

The parents involved, and the school, need to get their heads around this quickly.

I spoke to DD this morning and she said that no foods are banned at her school (secondary).

So these children need to learn to manage their allergy before they leave the primary school, and banning food isn't going to help with that.

There's two options with regards to the school dinners.

1. the head is genuinely that stupid that they didn't realise that risks are just as high

2. that they don't eat together. It's possible packed lunches eat theirs in class rooms.

Either way , more will be achieved by staying calm and pointing these things out and at least appearing to appreciate the position they are in than just sending stuff in anyway on the pretence that its fine if its in the school dinners.

If they eat together then of course it's madness but that may not be the case. The child could well have a habit of trying to swap their food in which case that's more likely with a packed lunch as its easier to grab a sandwich than stick your hand in the macaroni .

A polite email or letter explaining these things should hopefully help.

If the child with an allergy has a habit of trying to swap food the sensible way to deal with this is to stop that child (and maybe all children) swapping food. Not to ban any potential allergen from everyone's lunch though. That makes no sense.

Dd has anaphylaxis reactions to fish, school offered me the option of eating with a friend or two away from the dining room but there was no need because she doesn't react so long as she doesn't eat any fish. Dd knows and has known since ks1 that she must not swap food with her friends.
Dd also has severe reactions to animals with fur so when there was a planned visit to school bringing animals the school kept the animals outside and dd viewed through a closed window because she would react to the animals being in the same room.
So long as the school make reasonable adjustments there is no reason for the rest of the children in school to be affected by her allergies.The OP's school should be making the adjustments to keep the children safe not making rash decisions that will prove to be unworkable.

I suspect the head is having a lovely day taking phone calls from all the parents of children with allergies/intolerances to foods that don't overlap with the food on the banned list.

I may have missed something, but as far as I can see, the only allowable proteins are dairy products/processed meat.

I think there will be a Q&A meeting with parents before the end of term merry. That would be very interesting.

Obviously arbitrary that would be the sensible thing. Whole thing does sound really rushed and ill thought out. Which is why it all needs explaining calmly and thoroughly.

miaow, sorry if I hit a nerve.

However, it would be obvious which child had the allergies to the other children in the class, if only for the reason that it would be unsafe for them not to know.

You can't restrict the rest of the classes diets that much (what are children on gluten and dairy free diets supposed to eat?) and honestly expect there to be no bad feeling, even if its just a lot of sighing from the parent trying to work out what to pack for lunch.

ohballs

Tell the Head to get in touch with anaphylaxis campaign. They dont advocate nut bans and do give advice to schools. It's better to educate others about allergies rather than ban anything. The list doesn't include sesame or humous (contains sesame and chickpeas) My ds is allergic to treenuts (was but not longer peanuts) and sesame seeds and chickpeas. He avoids most seeds anyway.
I wouldn't count sesame as a nut and certainly wouldn't expect others to link the two. Just shows how ridiculous these bans are. Sesame causes anaphylaxis just as nuts and peanuts do.

DS has managed to get to 17 in schools without bans and never had a problem at school.

So, Child A, allergic to berries, bananas and chicken legs, has been managing by bolstering his/her diet with eggs, cereals and fish.

Meanwhile, Child B... see where I'm going with this?

They both start school at the same school in September. I can imagine a couple of sets of faces like this in their houses too now the letter has come out.

Clearly nobody is being well served by this, not even the children it's hamfistedly (ham ok?) being designed to protect.

The cynical side of me says they are trying to increase the uptake of school meals

Surely, by September the results of any allergy tests will be back and the school can issue a list then of what the children are known to be allergic to.