to ask what is banned from packed lunches at your school?

[Greensleeves]

My children don't believe me that some schools have banned cheese, eggs, ham, white bread etc. DS1 is 15 and still butthurt about the dinner lady who took away his single square of chocolate on his 6th birthday.

So are there such draconian rules out there? Or is it urban myth?

Fizzy drinks and sweets

Nuts and sweets/chocolate bars only as far as I am aware.

Nothing’s banned, but they aren’t allowed to share anything in their lunch boxes (so no ‘one for ones’ or swapsies)

Overweight children in our school are few and far between though and as far as I can tell most of the lunch boxes seem pretty healthy regardless of any rules.

Just nuts and that's only since last year (we've been at the school since 2010) because a new child joined who is highly allergic.

Oh, and only water allowed in the water bottles which they have in the classroom through the day - juice allowed in lunch boxes though.

My DC take in a wide variety of stuff from quinoa and kale salad and sushi, to white bread and ham sandwiches. They always have fruit and/or veg/salad so it really is a healthy diet.

As far as the usual banned items go - my dc tend to take them for break rather than lunch - crisps, chocolate biscuits etc, but again also take fruit, dried fruit, crackers and plain popcorn etc.

Have never had anything said to me. I wondered if it was because there is clearly balance, but it would appear not - I've helped on school trips plenty of times and regularly been in the school for various activities and seen kids who bring a bottle of fizzy juice, a packet fruit pastilles and a mars bar every day. One child in my DT's class brings a Tupperware full of Oreos every single day - and by Tupperware full I mean at least half a full-sized packet a day.

Have no idea if anything has been said but it still continues.

No sweets including granola bars with chocolate chips. No crisps, crackers, popcorn, flavoured milk, fruit juices, fruit sweets like fruit roll ups or dried fruit, no biscuits, etc

Only fizzy juice is not allowed.

Mind you if I could ban anything I would ban those squeezy yogurt Frube things (yes, just tubes not tubs). They are horrendous with small kids, hard for them to open and ridiculously easy for them to spill everywhere!

Nuts are banned (allergies)

There is a "healthy eating" policy in school, which depends on how previous the mammies in that year are as to how strictly its enforced: when DD started, a small treat for everyone in the class was allowed on DC birthdays (provided by the birthday DC) - but there was no expectation that it would happen as many didn't. But a group of DPs with much stronger views arrived when DD was in Y2, so that was the end of birthday treats across the whole school.

Nothing is outright banned, but there are definitely strong vibes to stick to a healthy sandwich (or healthy alternative), some popcorn rather than crisps, and fruit - an occasional "home baked treat" is also grudgingly allowed. However, in DD's class, while there is a generally healthy group of DCs, there are regular chocolate bars, crisps, cake etc. The teacher also has a few funsized treats in the "reward jar" (along with homework passes, mini notebooks, fun stationary, the odd pack of football cards or other pocket money type treat etc) that the DCs who earn rewards can choose. Funnily enough, most of them ignore the chocolate and will wait a few days to claim a reward if there are no homework passes available!!

I forgot - yoghurts are outright banned (mess), as are fizzy drinks (sugar levels).

But fruit squash in water bottles is fine, or the odd fruit shoot etc.

Our school is oddly liberal in ways, and not in others. The food gestapo are in the lower years though, so at least that's one battle the DPs in our class don't need to worry about (far more working DPs in our year, and with a very realistic view of the world - a few treats are ok as long as its not too frequent and certainly not daily).

Last year's teacher had a great way of getting around it for class parties - she would start with sausages and one boy used to bring in noodles (teacher would bring a flask of hot water from staff room kettle), and they would have a class breakfast with various things including hm flapjacks, hm brownies, popcorn etc and a few sweets etc - but it mostly was more heatlhy versions of things in general (and they are the senior end of school now so its almost seen as a "we're getting towards more adult type of celebrations" event by the DCs)!

Nuts and fizzy drinks that's it

Sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks and nuts. All of which I think are very reasonable! I wouldn't send the first three and although the nut ban is annoying, I understand the need for it. At DS's old school, nuts were allowed and he had peanut butter sandwiches several times a week which was brilliant as he's vegetarian and can be slightly fussy about sandwich fillings.

They are encouraged to take fruit, veg or cereal bars for mid morning snack but as I can't see much nutritional difference between a cereal bar and a biscuit, DS sometimes has a biscuit or similar and no one has mentioned anything yet!

Primary school: crisps, chocolate, cakes and sweets

High School - nothing banned

Primary School - just nuts

High School - nothing banned

Primary School - just nuts

High School - nothing

Primary school - only fizzy drinks.

Nursery - DD is only allowed water or milk with lunch. She's not keen on plain water so I give her flavoured water which seems to be fine so far unlike the ribena I gave her once.

Banned:

All drinks apart from plain still water
All crisps apart baked snacks like Wotsits, Mini Cheddars, etc
All sweets
All cake
All chocolate bars/chocolate biscuits
Pizza
Sausage rolls, pork pies etc.
Processed snacks like Dairylea Lunchables

Meanwhile school dinner children get things like chicken nuggets and chips followed by chocolate cake, but that's ok as it's a "nutritionally balanced meal prepared by experts"

I once had an argument as a slice of malt loaf was removed as this apparently is classed as cake. I was quite smug when I pointed out that in the leaflets they sent home the previous week, it said "why not swap cake for something healthier like malt loaf"

I once had an argument as a slice of malt loaf was removed as this apparently is classed as cake. I was quite smug when I pointed out that in the leaflets they sent home the previous week, it said "why not swap cake for something healthier like malt loaf" grin

ROFL!!!!

nuts and chocolate at my school

DD's school tried to insist that all packed lunch children must have sandwiches, fruit and a yoghurt for lunch because that is the only healthy lunch. They actually called me in once because DD had goats cheese tart, vegetable sticks, lentil dip and a pot of watermelon chunks, which was apparently not acceptable!

if I could ban anything I would ban those squeezy yogurt Frube things Yes! or at very least teach children not to suck at them/chew the end before going 'Miss, can you open this?' and thrusting the slobber covered things at me.

YorkshirePudding, would they reject a homemade pasty? Or just shopbought?

Nuts (including cereal bars with nuts and things like nutella)
Fizzy drinks
Sweets

Chocolate is not allowed on school trips to prevent it melting everywhere, but is allowed in school time lunches.

(Nursery on the other hand...
I think at one point the banned list included...
Nuts, strawberries, tomatoes, asparagus, milk, milk drinks and 'squeezy' yoghurt, [pot yoghurt allowed] eggs and oranges/satsumas/Orange juice)

Peanut products and chocolate bars (think dairy milk, not wafers).

Yes! or at very least teach children not to suck at them/chew the end before going 'Miss, can you open this?' and thrusting the slobber covered things at me.

You get me.
Not to mention kids using the classroom scissors to cut them open and not washing/drying them, so you end up with manky scissors...man, I hate bastard Frubes.

Nuts, fizzy pop and energy drinks.

We are secondary by the way. We don't conduct inspections but do confiscate if we see them.

Only thing banned at our school is peanuts.

They ask that you send sensible healthy options but they don't go policing it. I like it that way.

No alcohol in the staff room - most unfair, the afternoons would be so much more fun