School dinners. Can staff really do this?

[SoyUnPerdedor2]

Trying to keep it vague as haven't been able to get a meeting yet.
My dd returned to school after summer holiday. Same school she has been to, for a couple of years. Since she a tarted age 4.

Same staff. Same head. Same catering team.
Small village school. Single class intake.

Dd is key stage 1. So gets free dinners. All ks1 get them.

Dd has a dairy allergy. She has had this since birth. School are fully aware and kept her dairy free in the previous years.

Yesterday, I got a phone call after lunch. Asking me to collect dd as she had got an upset stomach and had pooed in the classroom.
As soon as I got near her, I could smell poo. Not normal poo, but the awful smelly stuff she made as a baby, before we got her allergy sorted.
So I asked what she had eaten. Macaroni cheese. Normal macaroni cheese. With real cheese.
Apparently, she has been taken off the allergy list, due to a paperwork issue?
School haven't updated her care thing, so gave her normal food. Knowing it would make her poorly.

Who is my issue with here?
School? Teacher? Office staff? Catering staff?
Dd is not old enough to fully understand food restrictions. She usually asks if it's OK for her. But with new kids starting, lots of noise.. I would not put the blame on her.

I am sorry if I upset anyone with my posts.

But I will not change them either. It is a big debate and deserves to be heard from both sides IMV.

I’m not sure it is a ‘big debate’ actually, as I’ve never before heard anyone say that children with allergies should be home schooled as it’s difficult for other children to see them getting special treatment. Just you.

Children with allergies are treated differently to all other children without them. Some kids resent that.

Yes, we're treated differently:

"Oh my God!!!!! You can't eat pizza?? I'd die without it!"
"Are you coming to pizza hut with us? Oh no, you can't...see ya later"
"You can't eat cheese? I wouldn't trust anyone who doesn't eat cheese"
"Cheese allergy? That's not normal, you're weird"

Just some of the things I've had thrown at me because of my (life-threatening) allergy...a couple of them have even been repeated by adults (I assume) here on mumsnet.

OP Your poor DD. In the 1960s DH told his school teachers he was allergic to cheese. They wouldnt have it and told him in no uncertain terms to eat the lunch provided.

That afternoon while at the school play dress rehearsal he threw up, He covered several kids and as it was the dress rehearsal the costumes were ruined. Dress rehearsal was cancelled.

They made sure any cheesy food went nowhere near him after that.

Thank you @SoyDora said what I was about to but much more politely.

It is easier to be disabled...

Allergies are considered a disability under the Equality Act.....

OP hasn't said that she hasn't filled out any paperwork regarding DD's allergy. The head has said is was a paperwork issue. Therefore, it looks to me like the school made a mistake.

Children with allergies are treated differently to all other children without them. Some kids resent that.

What on earth is your issue here? Who did you resent when you were growing up? A child who had numerous scary and painful episodes when they accidentally ate something they were allergic to? If this is the case and you still feel like that as an adult there's something wrong.

Believe me, being a child with allergies does not make you feel special. Children are generally desperate to fit in. They don't want to stand out for any reason, especially not a medical one.

OP, the headteacher needs to understand that this was an important incident and not something that can just be shrugged off as a small error.

I do think that it would be a good idea when you're cooking at home to point out to your daughter when you have adapted dishes. I always knew from a very young age that my lasagne had white sauce made with soya milk and that my toasted sandwiches didn't actually have cheese in them. I would have known not to accept custard, rice pudding etc. unless someone specified to me that they had made it dairy free.

Sorry Dh was at primary school when it happened so would have been late 1950s

I'm a teacher and that is completely unacceptable. 'A paperwork error' is a very poor excuse. However, this is nothing to do with the teacher. We don't have anything to do with school dinners. If your daughter's teacher helps with ordering in the morning, it is the school's fault for not informing the teacher of allergies. I work in a school with over 400 children, so we don't know children's allergies until we are informed on the inset day before school starts (which is what should have happened at your DD's school).

at big debate... I can imagine a staff meeting - " right time for our weekly big debate - Janet can you take the side of 'This House believes children with life threatening allergies should be segregated to their own school on a remote island to ensure non allergic children don't get jealous' "

our caterers don't feed children who have previously filled in allergy forms, until they either get it in writing they no longer have an allergy, or the new year's form is received. As in, they literally say they cant cater for them at all. They say lots of children end up with more allergies not less and they don't want to risk it. I have to call the parents and get them to bring some food in and fill out a form. They don't just go 'oh well they had a dairy allergy last year but the form isn't updated so we will just feed them dairy this year' what kind of jobsworth risks killing a child over a form?

Some kids resent that.

Nope. In 7 years of teaching I've never met a child who resents another child's allergies. Children can be jealous for a whole host of reasons but over the years I've never known that to be a reason, nor would I buy it if a child tried to use it as one.

If you've truly come across a child who does resent another child because of their allergy, you need to have a chat to that child and explain in as friendly a way as possible just how difficult life can be for children with severe allergies, and encourage them to be a little more kind and a lot more empathetic. They need to know that their jealousy and resentment isn't ok in that situation.

I’m disappointed that so many posters have fed the troll. It’s boringly obvious? Must try harder next time, Kate.

Go and speak to the welfare officer or head as this isn’t good enough. Hillarious suggestion to home school; stand-up comedian?

keyboardkate

You are the only person I've come across who says it's a big debate.

It really, really isn't. People with allergies are entitled to "reasonable adjustments" under the law, so that means food has to be carefully prepared.

Any child who has resentment that some kids are getting something they aren't need educating. I'm pretty sure that kids with allergies would much rather not have them, as it's usually them who end up missing out.

And any adult who holds this view is just a dick.

This is a situation where you do need to talk to the head teacher about what happened. There has clearly been a breakdown in the communication as to what daughter can eat and what you need is re-assurance that this will not happen again. This should not be a major problem in a small school.
If I was to second guess I would say that at the bottom of this paperwork mix up will be the GDPR guidance which is having the effect of making schools review all the sensitive data they hold on pupils.

Sorry, been putting dd in bed.
Her eyes are all red and her face is blotchy.
School issue "the form" at the start of every term. Full details. Name/address/emergency contacts... health issues allergies. Anything else they need to know.
We had a new one Wednesday. Filled in Wednesday night. Handed back. To teacher, in person. By me. Thursday morning.
Nothing had changed. No new info.

Wtaf?? I would be furious, this mistake would have hospitalized my DD, and it sounds like you have a poorly little girl right now. I am also a teacher and would be furious and mortified if it happened at my school. Yes, mistakes happen, but this one shouldn't have, and the head's response was unacceptable. We had a problem with a new TA giving my DD soya which is for her a slightly less bad allergen (same reaction as your DD actually, lots of washing that week!) but the difference is the Head apologised, investigated and explained to us what happened and how they had changed systems to make sure it never happened again. We were happy with that.

Formal complaint to Head in writing, if he responds in writing with similarly pathetic response complain the the governor ic of safeguarding (including complaining about the inadequacy of Head's response). Hope your DD feels better soon!

Soy did you compete a data check form? They're not always processed the same day as there's literally hundreds of them that come in and they take time to process. In your case you need to speak to the school. As I've said previously on this thread our school sends a reminder to parents to speak directly to catering regarding dietary needs at the beginning of each new school year. We don't rely on the data check forms to do this due to the amount received.

Regarding your OP it is not the teachers responsibility unless you have advised her of your child's dietary needs, the HT probably doesn't know your child's needs either and as I've already said the office staff won't be to blame due to the volume of forms being received. It would probably be best to contact catering before the beginning of each school year to reiterate your child's dietary needs. I'm still of the opinion it's up to the parent to do this to ensure any needs are being met. I think you're being quite unfair to expect forms to be processed when you only handed them in yesterday morning tbh.

No I don’t blame you at all.

It could’ve killed her if it was nuts. I’d be wanting answers and reassurance that they would be reviewing their allergy policy, and outcome before A- my child would be consuming any more school food, and B- if it wasn’t in a timely manner, and appropriate I would be writing to... is it the LEA?

It’s nowhere near good enough.

we have "GIRFEC

You really should keep up with current legislation 🙄 Please learn to spell and be coherent in your replies while you're researching it.

It is a big debate and deserves to be heard from both sides IMV.

It really isnt.
Another child having a restricted diet does not impact on your kids in any way shape or form.

They are spared the fear that something they eat can KILL them.
You never have to worry that when they go out to eat, to a party that someone will think they are just being 'special' and give them something to 'try' just to see if they really like it (cos allergies = fussy eater) and they get extremely ill.
You never have to worry that something in a food that they dont know is there can KILL them.

There is no discussion. School have a duty of care to protect the kids from allergens. As do cms, nurseries etc etc.

They're not always processed the same day as there's literally hundreds of them that come in and they take time to process
Op has stated that this is a small village school, ours has the most kids its had in years and has hit 60 kids over p1 - 7 this year! Usual intake is betweeen 4 and 10 at the start of a new year. She also says the same teachers, same kitchen staff and dd has been there 2 years so no excuses. Small village schools are like families, everyone knows everyone else, teachers know all the kids whether in their class or not and our dinner ladies were excellent, friendly and knew every kid and how they behaved, what they liked and disliked etc. Allergies were prominantly displayed for all staff to see. Again severe allergies are not going to dissapear, there was no change in the childs needs this year from last year. If they could manage it last year they can do the same this year. Head should be aware and ensuring this doesnt happen again and apologising properly not trying to pass the buck.

If that policy is not in place then that's a school issue. You'd be surprised at the number of children whose allergies change in a new school year. It shouldn't be up to a school to chase parents. It's a parents responsibility to inform the school every new school year (and more often of required). We don't have a crystal ball

You may not have a crystal ball but one should be safely able to assume that at least one brain cell is shared between the school staff.

It’s fairly standard practise that if you are aware and have been given evidence of an allergy that you don’t provide that food unless told to do so even if the month is September.
This child had attended the school for 2 years with no issues so they obviously knew.

Nobody but nobody with any sense at all would say “hmmmm this child has been on our allergy lists for 2 years, she’s not on it now, I know I shall just feed her this known allergen on the off chance that she’s grown out of it rather than assume a paperwork error may have happened before I have a chance to actually check, because you know it doesn’t really matter if she’s made really poorly or dies”

And if you think that approach is acceptable then you need to really consider the risk you present to vulnerable people.

That is terrible! I'm an inclusion manager and oversee care plans at my school. We give the catering staff pictures of the children with allergies detailing what they're allergies are.
Unless notified of changes by parents, we simply update classes each September and reissue the plans.
You don't have to give info every year unless there are changes. You are absolutely right to expect the school to monitor known allergies,
Huge errors on the schools side!

Your poor daughter. Have you given her anti histamine? I hope the after effects don't last too long. So hope she isn t ill all weekend.

I would like to mention that allergies to anything can cause anaphylaxis. A few posters have said imagine if it was nuts.
Nuts, dairy, sesame, egg, fish, wheat, strawberries pretty much any food can cause anaphylactic shock. Dairy is just as dangerous as nuts if your immune system recognises it as poison.

An allergy that affects the gut and digestive system is not a mild reaction. It has caused damage. It should not be minimised.

Life threatening allergies can also occur at any point my friend is 43 and was recently hospitalised after eating prawns and now needs an epi pen. He had eaten them many times before without issue.