Nut free schools

[JustACountryMusicLoverInCowboyBoots]

I we've just had the back to school reminder that our school is nut free and that 10% of the pupils have severe allergies requiring an epipen. Pupils are not allowed anything containing nuts or seeds or that may contain them like cereal bars. No hummus etc.

My question is what happens when children with severe allergies go to high school where there are no such policies (not at the high schools that our primary feeds into anyway) and it would be more difficult to police? What happens at college and in the work place? What if a child has Nutella at breakfast or seeded toast or similar and has residue on their clothes or skin?

Severe allergies can be fatal so I understand school's stance. It's impossible to eradicate the risk completely so is it a case of minimising as much as possible? That brings me back to what happens at high school etc though?

Snacks have to be fruit or vegetables for break although many take in cereal bars despite the weekly reminders in the newsletter. My child has school dinners just in case anyone thinks I'm saying the rule is ridiculous.

My school (secondary) won’t advertise itself as nut free because it can’t be guaranteed, they’re leaving themselves open to being sued if a child has an allergic reaction. However, there are regular reminders about not bringing products containing nuts into school, so it’s not like they’re just ignoring the issue.

It’s different in primary because they are so young. My child is fairly good at managing his allergy, but other children are unpredictable. Some of that risk will be reduced by secondary.

My work is nut free for this reason.

My kids secondary school has a 'no nuts' policy. I don't think it is policed as such they just hope people stick to it.

The kids had a bake sale as a fundraiser last year at the school and a text was sent out inviting parents to bake. The requirements were no nuts, no dairy, no eggs, no chocolate even dairy free. I was going to bake before I saw that but it felt like too much hassle trying to find a nice recipe that didn't include any of the above.

Our secondary schools are also nut free. But it’s much easier for teenagers to manage themselves than small primary age children swapping food, not washing hands etc.

just DS has an epi-pen and he simply never eats anything from a bake sale and avoids homemade food if he isn't sure about the household.

I work in a secondary school and we are nut free. As PP said above though they don't ban may contain and there's stuff I'm sure the kids bring in lunch boxes which they don't have in the canteen (eg jar pesto - canteen make their own with no pine nuts and so it's veggie). Kids so need to learn to manage their own allergies, but id you ended up with one of the ones with a very severe allergy sat next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich my understanding is that that would be pretty bad. I have sat at a desk at work before near someone with a severe nut allergy and it was important we didn't eat nuts in the office. Technically we weren't allowed them anyway as "nut free school". So people mentioning the workplace, sometimes you might not exactly need rules as an adult, but it can be really important to respect the health of your colleagues!

Our school doesn't have the same rules with seeds, sesame and stuff. For example some of the packaged sandwiches they make do have hummus in them. And often they add seeds to stuff in lieu of nuts I think. There is a big sheet with all the other allergens that the kids need to check available in the canteen. Presumably in primary that level of self regulation is a bit beyond them.

A friend working in another school had a situation where sixth formers were selling homemade cookies with nuts in them for charity and a boy grabbed one without checking and nearly died. Incidents like this means schools have to be really really careful. They are liable for these incidents. The occurrence of nut allergies in the population has risen a lot I believe, which I think makes it hard to grasp for lots of people who are a bit older (I,can't remember anyone when I grew up with a nut allergy). But I can tell you from all the trip paperwork etc I've done as a teacher that is is now very very common!

Schools do this to cover their arses but its actually not recommended - allergy UK don't recommend nut bans because actually it makes people complacent/let their guard down. As you say - there's no way to eliminate the risk. Lots of children can have residues on clothing or skin from breakfast, home made food is very prone to cross contamination.

Its better to assume reactions are going to happen and have very good processes in place to handle these with epi pens etc.

Its also better to be teaching the children good practises from an early age - good hand washing etc.

For bake sales our rules are no nuts but for other stuff the cake just has to be labeled with allergens. The bake sale mentioned above sounds joyless in the extreme!

DS goes to a nut free high school - and he carries his epi pens around with him. We've trained him to be wary in restaurants and when eating at others' houses.

I bake regularly and avoid the nuts he is allergic to. When I bring them into work, those with allergies will always ask before helping themselves (one colleague is allergic to all nuts, another just to hazelnuts) - fortunately they are not allergic to them being present in the environment, otherwise I would avoid bringing nuts in entirely.

To pick up the poster above, milk allergies can be fatal. A quick Google finds that of children under 16 dying from food anaphylaxis, 26% died from a reaction to milk. Peanuts is 14%, and the tree nuts/unknown nuts is 21%.

The paper is here https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n251#:~:text=At%20least%2086%20(46%25),in%20older%20children%20and%20adults.

DC3 luckily has a non anaphylactic allergy to dairy and soya. But when DC1 started at school, there was a child in his class with an anaphylactic dairy allergy. The school didn't ban milk products though, I guess because they knew it would be unworkable. Instead there were careful arrangements about supervising lunch and who sat next to him.

I work in a school and we take allergies very seriously. It is much easier to make a total ban on serious allergens (those which cause a risk of anaphylaxis to anyone in our school) than to frantically to try wash the faces and hands of 30 4 year olds whilst they are trying to run off into the yard, before they touch any surfaces, door handles etc. It makes it safer and takes away most of the risk

It is much easier to make a total ban on serious allergens (those which cause a risk of anaphylaxis to anyone in our school)

And yet i'm willing to bet milk and dairy products aren't banned?

This.

My DD has peanut allergy and is now 14. She checks absolutely every "unknown" food herself and has done so from about the age of 6. It just becomes habit. Her secondary school is not nut free but this feels safe and manageable. Totally different to primary where she needed others to keep her safe, particularly in lower years.

Incidentally, in secondary, she carries her epipens around with her at all times. They are not stored in a central office. And the doctor recommended that we show her friends how to use them, just in case.

Out of interest, what meals do you serve which don't contain any allergens with a risk of causing anaphylaxis?

@ConfusedBear I was replying to @Wehavealaughdontwe, but I would also be interested in seeing a meal plan as it's just not possible to eliminate all the allergens

I suspect they mean their school only bans nuts, and I would be very surprised if they actually banned other allegens such as dairy, hence my post.

DS had moderate allergies to milk, eggs and soya which was incredibly restrictive. I was very well trained in checking labels. Some people will need to be careful of "may contain" warnings if their allergy is particularly sensitive and severe, but banning them in general is unnecessarily restrictive and unhealthy. It also significantly takes away options for others with restricted diets.

I can't guarentee that anything in my kitchen is truely free of any trace of nut, especially the crisps and snacks stored in a cupboard where there are packs of nuts. I'm happy to oblige with not sending in products actively containing nuts, and when one DS was younger and had a nut-allergic classmate, I made sure to clean his face and hands thouroughly if he ate something containing nuts at breakfast.

I remember looking round a secondary school last year with DS in a small group tour when one of the parents asked how did they police their nut free policy. Teacher was confused and politely informed mum there wasn’t a nut free policy. Mum was absolutely incredulous and couldn’t understand what teacher was saying….. kept saying “but you MUST ban nuts, this is a school!” “But my child is very allergic to nuts!” Getting more and more panicky as I think it was dawning on her that her kid was going to have to be in this environment.
Teacher was lovely but Mum just literally cycled through loads of phases in front of us, from puzzlement to panic to anger, and in the end stormed out screaming she would have to home school.

And I haven't forgotten the fear of being around swarming toddlers shedding allergens left, right and centre. I still picture the one allowed to roam around playgroup, scoffing cake (full allergen bingo) and dropping chunks of it all over the community room and toys, and helicoptering toddler DS so he didn't pick it up and eat it.

There's a limit in how far you can micromanage others though.

Peanuts are not nuts in an allergy sense, they are legumes. People allergic to walnuts, hazelnuts etc might not have issues with peanuts and viceversa. Hence the disclaimer.

Primary school aged children will not be able to manage their allergies as well as an adult.
Our bake sales, school discos etc all have the same nut free policy and parents are asked to make sure their baked goods don’t contact any nut traces.

Our feeder high school is also nut free. One high school pupil had a severe reaction based on nuts and it changed everything. The high school students are actually very vigil about it now.

My husbands work place is also nut free but most aren’t because adults are able to manage their allergies and know the symptoms to look out for.

@ThanksItHasPockets

Yeah we are technically not 100% nut free - it is impossible to be especially by the time they get to secondary school - but we do enough to get a 'nut free' status.

Kids on packed lunches eat in the assembly hall during wet break, and then it is mopped, chairs and tables wiped down like in the normal dinner hall.

My DD secondary is also nut free

I would further bet that if it's anything like most other primary schools, a lovely tray of allergens in cartons is brought into the classroom every morning for the children to have with their fruit.

A total ban on all serious allergens is completely impossible. I doubt they even eliminate the fourteen main ones. Gluten? Eggs? All fish?

Thanks @Prescottdanni123. I really appreciate your explanation.