School catering company asking for proof of my kids allergies before they are allowed school dinners.

[CovidStoleTheRainbow]

Background - my child is anaphylactic to dairy, egg, banana and nuts.
A less severe allergy to wheat, soya, shell fish.

He's entitled to free school meals for a couple of months and we figured he could have jacket potato.

School said not til we filled in a form.
The Chartwells form said not til we have given proof of allergies.
I thought they were joking so I filled in the form but didn't send 'proof'.
School asked for proof, I asked school to photo copy my child's anaphylaxis care plan and send them that.

Got a letter today from Chartwells, saying thanks for the proof of the foods he's severely allergic to, but now prove he's allergic to soya, wheat and shell fish.

I'm a bit 'what the fuck?!' for two reasons.

First of all - proof?! Why? Just allow his limited diet and let him eat a fricking hot spud.

Second of all, the waiting list for the allergy clinic in my area is 2 years before coronavirus issues and it's a fight to get on the list at all so there's kids out there with little to no proof they have allergies or intolerances to food, and many of them will be from families in poverty well in need of free school meals.

Yes I get there will be people who randomly not wanting their kid to eat gluten but with allergies on the rise in the way that they are, they will be the absolute lowest common denominator.

My allergy doctor has given up testing me for anything except the most severe reactions. If I turn up and say I think I'm allergic to pineapple and horseradish since I last went, but they only make me sick with no more serious symptoms, they put that in my notes and leave me to it!

I understand that they want to be sure they are serving something appropriate, but it seems ludicrous that they cannot take a statement from you given that so many of his other allergies are so well documented. Would your GP be able to help?

@flaviaritt

This is mad. If your son is ill because they fed him food you have told them will make him ill, are they prepared to be sued?

Exactly that's what I'd go back with. I'd say you can ignore my very clear instructions if you wish but I will be taking legal action if any harm comes to my son because you've ignored his allergies that I have informed you of. They would be in very shaky ground legally if they ignored you.

Are you using jacket potato as an example or is it on the menu every day? At our school it’s only on once a week.

@Preparedtobetoldimwrong

Are you using jacket potato as an example or is it on the menu every day? At our school it’s only on once a week.

The jacket is on every single day.

It's the only thing he will ever be allowed to eat. He's allergic to every single food they otherwise provide, aside from the plain fruit.

It's a short lived thing, but DS wanted to do it for a while.

A care plan will mean different things in different schools. Ours are written by parents and list any medical needs/medication and allergies a child has and how to deal with them. We have dozens of children with those. Some children also have additional care plans if they have a severe or even life threatening condition, these are provided by medical professionals- the diabetic nurse or the epilepsy team etc. As a school we don't ask for proof of allergies and we take a parents word for it. But we're not feeding the children on a daily basis, so we can afford to do that. On the rare occasions that we do provide food, we can take account of the allergies. The catering company however wants proof because it is their business and their responsibility on a daily basis.

but I still don't see why you just can't give the proof.

@Hercules12

I agree. parents so often insist their child is allergic to a certain food but send it in for trips. they then get annoyed when staff confiscate it as apparently they're not allergic all the time....

Do they? Which parents are they? Can you show me?

Or just order a baked potato every day.

@MiniMum97 the caterers wont give him a meal until they have all the relevant paperwork in place according to the OP. So I guess the child is having a packed lunch at the moment.

Well the caterers at our similar sized school only ask for a form to be completed and for a careplan if the allergies require a careplan. Parents can declare a child intolerant without proof. The catering manager might call them to chat about it but if a parent says a child is intolerant they believe them. The only thing they do is be very consistent. You cant pick dairy free but say ice cream is fine, or no gluten except gravy. This consistency tends to filter out fads.

Given that you can easily prove the allergies your child has, I think its crazy that they want proof of the rest, why would you suddenly chuck in other issues? Finding food when you have dietary requirements, and even worse, trusting someone to commit is a scary experience and often leaves you feeling embarrassed, it would awful for your son to have to feel like that. I would be tempted to mock up a letter, its not like you are insisting on difficult or expensive food. Good luck.

I work for Chartwells and they do have this policy that you need medical evidence of allergies. I realise this is difficult for families that just choose to avoid a food that seems to disagree with their child, but generally there is some contact with the GP or a dietician if you suspect an allergy and start restricting your child's diet. I think the diet team will be willing to work with you if you have some kind of evidence like a GP letter even if you haven't had specialist advice yet. The best thing is to talk to someone from the diet team on the phone and explain your situation.

Chartwells take allergies extremely seriously after a few problems in the past. This is why they insist on doing everything by their system to the letter and it is all very strict. They will produce a special meal plan working with dieticians and are very careful about it. In your DS case he would not have to have a jacket potato every day they have special freeform meals available. Having said that they might give him a jacket potato in the interim while all this is being arranged.

Hope you can get something sorted for him.

@Hercules12

I don't get this. surely the consultant would have included all the allergies.

Not on a care plan.

The care plan is a life saving form to adhere to if he has a reaction.

There is indeed letters between the consultants, GP and me about his moderate allergies. I don't have any that are dated within the last year that I can find. So I can get one from the GP, but should I have to? Should the GP have to?

And more to the point, as my main issue was that everyone has missed

the waiting list for the allergy clinic in my area is 2 years before coronavirus issues and it's a fight to get on the list at all so there's kids out there with little to no proof they have allergies or intolerances to food, and many of them will be from families in poverty well in need of free school meals.

why proof? surely you can just take my word for it? how could I prove it? it's not a diagnosed medical condition....

Consultant will send you a letter OP with all allergies on - will suffice. Give the medical secretary a call for the names consultant in charge of care and they’ll email it directly.

Had the same issue. DS is anaphylactic to Nuts, Egg, Milk but can’t tolerate soya either. Although they did include Soya on his care plan anaphylaxis sheet.

They don't have to feed your son. U can send him in a packed lunch. Look at the recent cases where people have died eg pret sandwich, buttermilk chicken. It's a risk to them they don't need. I have a severely and oddly allergic kid. Chartwells tried hard for us (I do mean that, it wasn't a blanket nope) to understand him and came up with vegetable chimichangas and my kid said he wasn't eating that so...it was the no inclusion on residential trips that broke my heart tho. He now at uni. I'm used to calls going 'muuuuuum , I'm in A&E, I'm swelling up , can't breathe, 4per cent charge, gotta go byeeee'

[quote Soontobe60]@MiniMum97 the caterers wont give him a meal until they have all the relevant paperwork in place according to the OP. So I guess the child is having a packed lunch at the moment.[/quote]
So they can refuse to provide free school meals that the OP is legally entitled to on the basis that the OP hasn't provided medical evidence? Really? That doesn't sound right at all.

and this is why my son has packed lunches while his siblings have school dinners. He's clearly allergic to gluten (vomits when he eats it - always has) but they want proof. the only way they'll get proof is if I can force him to eat gluten every day (which he will vomit up each time) for 6 weeks and then be tested - which will probably still come up negative because he won't have ingested enough gluten to show up because he's vomits it up every time! It's not worth it. So I can't provide a formal diagnosis but isn't it enough that both he and I (because I realised how much better I felt when I did it with him) have been strictly gluten free for the last 8 years? No. That's not enough for school dinners because they don't want to be bothered, but another kid's mum decides over the weekend that the whole family are now vegan and they have to provide vegan meals. Doesn't make any sense. I feel for you OP - good luck making the packed lunches!

Also, the wait for clinic will get worse cos covid. Everything backed up. Go private allergy clinic one appt then back into nhs. Massive door opener well worth it

All schools require proof. It is absolutely correct that they do.
Unfortunately some parents can inflict restrictions on their child's diet unnecessarily which is harmful for the child.

Whilst I know there are those who claim intolerances or worse fictitiously, the request to have only one thing that is already on offer (not special cooking) does not seem unreasonable to me.

Oh I agree it’s crazy though.!

It's nothing unusual for evidence to be asked for as others have stated.

Care plans are not limited to children to have their lives saved and only filled in by a consultant. Many people have them for a variety of reasons. Some schools refer to it as a passport.

If you aren't happy with this, there are thermal boxes and flasks that could be used so he could take a potato from home.

School's catering teams must know exactly what a child is medically allergic to. You must realise that.
Simply saying that your child is allergic ( because you think they are) isn't good enough.
I speak as someone in school who worked with a child who was "allergic " to a particular , normal day-to-day foodstuff that is very prevalent , yet has no medical proof of this allergy. Only the most expensive premium brand of this foodstuff is acceptable.
Basically, mum only wanted a particular high end brand which the catering company was unable to supply.

Many parents declare allergies but these allergies are often contradicted by the meal choices that they choose ( the allergens of which are clearly displayed on the menus.)

Wheat from the chaff.

Im posting this again and highlighting it because people are missing it

Second of all, the waiting list for the allergy clinic in my area is 2 years before coronavirus issues and it's a fight to get on the list at all so there's kids out there with little to no proof they have allergies or intolerances to food, and many of them will be from families in poverty well in need of free school meals.

I can get a letter from my consultant to prove his allergies. I can give him the same packed lunch.

But what about those who haven't had a diagnoses...????