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.

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?

Yes. Either ask the consultant secretary for an updated list of everything or the GP. Gp will be quicker but consultant will probably be cheaper. Sucks having a kid with medical needs sometimes

I very much doubt any school are allowed to let a child have jacket potato every day of the week. Especially on free school meals. Free school meals is meant to represent a kids main meal of the day. A jacket potato And beans every day for their main meal does not represent a balanced diet.

@YellowPostItPad

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.

Absolutely this.

Proof is essential for safeguarding. The school has a duty of care to all children, those that are actually allergic, those who's parents say they're allergic but they just don't like something and potentilla parents forcing their children to have limited diets for reasons only known to them. It's rare but that's why the school asks for proof.
I understand that it's irritating but understand that it designed to keep your child and other children safe and healthy

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

That's not you or your child's problem.

I did that. Went private just once. It was ten years ago. I think 140 at the time. Immediate appointment. Long appointment. Felt listened to not crazy for first time. Got epipens . Hallelujah

We had a parent complain bitterly to governors and the local authority that we hadn't allowed their child an ice cream at the pantomime ( we had provided an ice lolly instead) because their health care plan said they were allergic to dairy. We were rather bemused when we were told that didn't cover ice cream!

This makes no sense at all. If you even think your child might be allergic to a food then you avoid it until you know for sure.

My DD has several food allergies and is now in Yr 6 and I have never been asked for proof.

Are they trying to push you towards sending him with a packed lunch to avoid the risks / hassle to themselves?

So I can get one from the GP, but should I have to? Should the GP have to?
At my GP this will cost you £40.

I’d send the letter confirming the mild allergies, even if it is more then 1yr ago.

@Tinacollada

They need proof because the school and the catering company are in charge of your sons welfare if you're wanting them to feed them.

Free school meals or not.

And your child will need a care plan in place at school.

That's ridiculous. It is the reverse of protecting a child's welfare to refuse to cater for allergies until you have "proof". I don't have proof of what I am allergic to, but if someone insisted I ate food with that substance in it because I can't produce proof, I would become seriously ill very quickly. How does that safeguard my welfare?

My DD has several food allergies and is now in Yr 6 and I have never been asked for proof.
My DC’s school ask for a copy of the annual review and have since nursery. This yr was done over the telephone. I provided a copy of the subsequent letter. My DC also has an annual blood and RAST. The RAST wasn’t done this yr because of COVID but the bloods were and are every yr. I also gave school a copy of these as they specify the direction the histamine is moving (in our case lower).

Ask your GP for a letter. You may need to pay for this, at my surgery is £10.

I have anaphylaxis, so I get you, particularly on the wait list time.

As you know he has less severe reactions (which to be honest, I hope you know can switch to being severe at any point in time), just drop an email / call to the allergy team and ask them to write a clinic note saying he's got allergies to X,Y,Z and anaphylaxis to X,Y,Z as per the care plan.

School, and the caterers, will have a contract to provide balanced meals and a jacket potato each day is not a balanced diet.

It's easily solvable - just ask the allergy clinic for a letter.

@Hazelnutlatteplease

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

That's not you or your child's problem.

It is however a very serious question. What is to happen for those children?

I worked out that I was allergic to sesame because I began having increasingly serious reactions which only happened when I had eaten anything with sesame in it. I didn't need to go to the doctor for it, because the treatment is perfectly obvious: avoid food with sesame. I carry anti-histamine tablets in case I eat it by accident, and at the moment if that doesn't work I will start vomiting and get rid of the allergen that way. So I don't have any proof that I am allergic.

If my child were in that situation, why should I bother my doctor and insist the NHS test for something that doesn't (currently) need any treatment? If I do need a test and there is a two year waiting list, why should my child either have to go without free school meals or be forced to risk eating something that will make them ill?

the chartwells post from @RishiMcRichface is valuable here! but you need to send (imo) a clear instructional email about your position to them, the head and the local ed authority, srsting all your concerns and what you expect to happen in the meantime (jacket potatoes). and state clearly that unless u hear otherwise u assume this is what will be happening.

So they should do:

Google
Karanbir Cheema
Mohammad Ismaeel Ashraf
Nasar Ahmed,

Schools have to comply with this.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3

That must be so worrying OP, and while I absolutely believe that some parents exaggerate and makeup allergies, there will also be children with borderline issues, who may have a sensitivity to a particular food, but not a full-blown allergy. Are they going to force feed children these foods for lack of proof?

FFS

@DrinkFeckArseGirls

Ask your GP for a letter. You may need to pay for this, at my surgery is £10.

But that's mad, isn't it? All that the GP can do in the short term is to say "Mrs OP tells me that her son is allergic to X, Y and Z." Why is it inherently more credible because what Mrs OP says comes through a GP rather than directly from her?

@Cygne Please be very careful with your plan to vomit up the allergen. You really should be thinking about carrying an epi pen if you are at the vomiting stage. Allergies can very quickly turn to life threatening anaphylaxis with no warning.

He needs an individual healthcare plan in place.

@ThatsAllFolks

it was the no inclusion on residential trips that broke my heart tho. He now at uni

I hear you. DS has had similar and he had a really crap residential trip away once. I really worry about him at Uni - although he is only 15 at the moment. I just need to get him to learn to cook for himself before he gets there.

It's such a worry.

He has pack ups for school. Not very exciting but it works for him. We do have an allergy plan as well which states what he is allergic to.

@Al1langdownthecleghole

That must be so worrying OP, and while I absolutely believe that some parents exaggerate and makeup allergies, there will also be children with borderline issues, who may have a sensitivity to a particular food, but not a full-blown allergy. Are they going to force feed children these foods for lack of proof?

FFS

Life-threatening reactions are extremely rare but they are also hard to predict. About 5% of children in the UK have an allergy. Adverse reactions to food are the most common.

And just because a child has never had a severe reaction, that does not mean it might not happen in the future, particularly if they have poorly controlled asthma.

Proof is essential for safeguarding. The school has a duty of care to all children, those that are actually allergic, those who's parents say they're allergic but they just don't like something and potentilla parents forcing their children to have limited diets for reasons only known to them. It's rare but that's why the school asks for proof.

How does that work in safeguarding terms, @sherrystrull? "You tell us that your child is allergic to X, we know he is a child who is subject to allergies and have no reason to disbelieve you. However, because you can't produce proof, we are going to make your child eat X. Terrifically sorry that that will make your child very ill and exacerbate his allergy, but we have to safeguard him, you know."

Presumably Chartwell doesn't demand proof that a child is vegan or vegetarian, or that they belong to a religion which forbids certain foods? How does that work?

It's costs them more to cater for your son. So they want to be certain that they do NEED to (rather than you being fussy) before they agree to impact their margins.

Yep, it's that shitty.

Dd has quite a few allergies. The only ones diagnosed by the nhs are coeliac and lactose. We did pay for a private allergy test which stated quite a few others.

When I asked her gastro consultant about this he did give the caveat that such tests aren’t always reliable but said the best diagnosis of food allergies and intolerance isn’t a medical test but that if something affects you, stop eating it. If you’re ok with something then carry on eating it.

Dd is certainly a lot better since she stopped eating stuff on her list. But if someone just followed that consultant advice they might struggle proving something.

@CovidStoleTheRainbow

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...????

But even then the GP could provide a letter to start that x has been referred to the allergy clinic with allergies which are suspected to be to x, y and z and until then they need to avoid them.

I can’t blame any provider for wanting to know exactly what they are dealing with