To think this is NOT good enough?! I am furious!!

[Peanutsaga]

NC’d So dd (8) has a nut allergy and has an epipen that she brings to school. Long story short, a girl in her class brought in a cereal type bar into school with her lunch but it had peanuts and other nuts in it as well as chocolate chips (you know the ones!)
Dd informed me that she saw said girl with the bar and then avoided her for the rest of the day and she could even smell the peanuts. I called into the school to let them know that this had happened but in short I was told, that the school had informed the parents of the no nut policy and sent it out via letter and newsletter, and that there wasn’t much else they can do as they cannot police the lunch boxes every morning. Is that it? I feel really let down and nervous about dd at school now!!

Some of these comments are daft @HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend If a child in the school had a severe airbourne allergy to citrus I would expect the school to make a very robust effort to protect the safety of that child and ensure they don't come into contact with citrus.

I also love the fact that the school can send one letter and be done with it. Imagine a child was bringing alcohol into school and offering it around to your 8 year old. Would you say "well the school can't police the lunch boxes, it's not their fault"? No! You'd want it investigated thoroughly and you'd want the parents who were giving their kids alcohol to be brought into school for a meeting etc.

Last time I checked an 8 year old handling alcohol is one illegal and two a social services matter. Absolutely ridiculous compassion.

HolesinTheSoles - Some of these comments are daft @HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend If a child in the school had a severe airbourne allergy to citrus I would expect the school to make a very robust effort to protect the safety of that child and ensure they don't come into contact with citrus.

It isn't that easy citrus foods it feesibly isn't possible and nor should it be,exactlly the same with peanut and nut allergy after its AGAINST the current guidelines which no one wants to acknowledge

I have loads of allergies the main ones being citrus, kiwi, berries, shellfish, tree pollen, grass pollen

Citrus kiwi berries and shellfish cause anaphylactic shock

None of these foods are banned and I don't expect them to be from an early age I learnt what I could and couldn't eat - I never carried an epipen until the 90s yet remember uni days ending up in an ambulance as I accidentally came into contact with fruit usually through drinking cocktails.

I work in a school I don't expect the children I teach to stop having these foods however I explain I can't help them peel fruit and they must peel and eat it outside.

My family all eat these foods but I don't handle them and they know they need to wash hands / faces and clean teeth before coming to me.

I never understood why peanut allergy trumps all other allergies,

Last time I checked an 8 year old handling alcohol is one illegal and two a social services matter.

its not illegal, a 5 year old can legally have an alcholic drink.

Imagine a child was bringing alcohol into school and offering it around to your 8 year old.

they are not remotely similar, and completely off tangent.

@ddraigygoch

You obviously understood the point and are being deliberately dense. If you can police alcohol you can stop nuts. Being illegal doesn't magically make it easier to police does it? You're just implying there's more motivation to prevent something that is illegal than something that is deadly which is even more daft!

"as one of the most severe food allergies due to its prevalence, persistency, and potential severity of allergic reaction."

It is simply more prevelent. Has anyone ever suggested anywhere that if any other allergy was as severe and as prevelant it would have a different response in a school? No of course not! If a child actually suffered a severe allergy caused by a different food then the response from the school should be just as robust. Don't create a silly straw man argument.

A primary school child still needs adults to help them with their health in a way which wouldn't be expected of secondary aged kids or adults. A teacher should be supervising lunch times.

Has anyone ever suggested anywhere that if any other allergy was as severe and as prevelant it would have a different response in a school?

This is happening, kids are dying as their allergies are seen as less prevelant, in all my ds years not once has any care giver suggested we ban his allergies... a parent in ds school was unhappy her child had to be lint down daily as it was agiinst "her human rights" compared to my childs legal right to live.

its a nut allergy caan be banned, then so can dairy citrus.... yet it dooes not happen...

the conferences and trials we are involved in, the specialist are aghast that other allergens are seen to be just "fads" and thats the simple fact.

I haven’t read the full thread. TBH if my dc had an allergy that could potentially result in death from a food that may (or in OP’s case was) contained in another child’s lunch box at school I would have opted to home school.

You can’t trust anyone else with your child’s health - especially a school full of children, who like what they like to eat. Parents concentrate on their own child. They won’t (and never will) focus on yours.

I never understood why peanut allergy trumps all other allergies

practically, I don’t understand either - can someone tell me why?

Also, are nut allergies truly air-borne? I can only say that it’s not the case for my DCs. He will only get hives and swollen face from an accidental whole hazelnut (no epi-pen need), but stops breathing within 10 minutes from a bite of poppadom (chick pea flour). My other DC had one bite of a sandwich with butter on it and stopped breathing/went blue within 10 minutes.

My DSs first anaphylactic reaction was at his nursery where, at 10 months old, he took another child’s bottle of formula and had some. They had never taken his dairy allergy seriously - but of course they kept telling me they had a no nut policy!

I have asked our consultant and he says there is no reason for nut bans, except historically it was the most common allergen and it’s easy to cut out of Anglo schools.

We need to move away from food bans in schools and support more allergy awareness. I am not in the UK or US and the doctors in my country also do not suggest food bans.

I even found (local) written education department policies which did not support nut bans. But still our Head feels like he can’t lift them.

I am starting to think that it will take the death of a child from a non nut allergy to make people start to think differently about food allergy risk minimisation......

I do know that my children do not feel safe at school. Not because of the food around them, but because they don’t feel like people take their non-nut allergies seriously.

Because of this thread, I am going to ask our head again to stop the nut ban and, instead, see if he will agree to an allergy awareness campaign. I feel my DCs will be safer if their peers and the teachers are allergy aware rather than banning nuts.

The school I work at stopped calling themselves a ‘nut free’ school a couple of years ago as in reality it is impossible to police. We only offer school dinners but even so, the children with severe allergies have their own table. Are there others in your daughter’s school with allergies that she could sit with?

At secondary school very few schools are but free. My DD is away at boarding school and they offer peanut butter everyday at breakfast.
Your DD has to be taught how to keep herself safe as you can't rely on those around you.
Scary I know but it's true

My sons school had a policy of everyone washing their hands before AND after eating as well as the no nuts rule.

The school are right that they can’t police the lunch boxes. Make it clear to them that you are not asking them to do this as a matter of course.

What you ARE asking for from the school is (a) a reminder to be sent out because of this incident, and (b) where, as here, you have informed them of a breach of school rules by a specific person which put your daughter at risk, you expect the parent who caused the incident to be spoken to with the aim of reducing risk to your child and others in future.

Suggest you send the head an email, they take matters much more seriously when there’s a paper trail.

Try not to be too angry with the other parent though, who may well have not noticed that the bar has nuts in / have forgotten the no nuts rule. We eat a lot of nuts at home and are fortunate enough not to suffer from allergies, so for us remembering to comply with the no nuts rule in lunchboxes would be easy to forget. Have managed not to yet but I can see it’s easily done when nuts just aren’t something you think about.

I think I would have expected the school to contact the parent . However they might ignore it anyway x