School and food allergies

[Newuser75]

I'm just wanting a few opinions on whether to mention this to the school or not.

My reception age child was yesterday given an item of food in his bag that he can't eat due to a food allergy.

It was put in his school bag wrapped in a napkin.

He wanted to eat it but obviously there were no ingredients on it so I had to go back to the classroom to check with the teacher what it was made with.

He was then very upset as he couldn't eat it.

I'm just concerned that he may have got it and eaten it before we figured out what it was.

For context this isn't the first time something similar has happened as he came out of school one day eating something he can't have.

I just think a reception age child shouldn't have had an item of food given to him that he is allergic to?

Seems to me they did some kind of cooking/baking activity at school. If a child had an allergy at our school we would try to find an alternative eg oat milk, dairy free chocolate etc but if no substitute could be used then we would let the child made the item along with everyone else and then let the parents decide if they wanted the child to eat it or not at home time.

You shouldn't be allowing allergic children to handle the ingredients they're allergic to, surely? That's shocking if you do allow it.

how cruel and dangerous. why would you give something to a child they are alllergic to and then take it off them and let the parents say no, because they cant exactly say yes give it to them if its an allergy.

He has been allergic to milk since birth. We have never been given anything in writing but have informed the school in writing ourselves, before he started and a few times since. They have said every time they have updated their records.

We can certainly look to doing this.

It's never been mentioned that we need this.

They know he has an allergy. He sits on a separate table to eat with other children who have allergies.

Real poor practice- Kid could be seriously hurt by this laid back attitude.

And it's not should of. It's worrying how many teachers and TA's on this board use of instead of have!

Allergy isn’t always predictable- not anaphylactic when a person is well can easily be much more severe when there’s an illness brewing or after vigorous exercise.
I would not allow allergic ingredient handling and would ask the school if they could include a treat box with a few safe sweets with the allergy medication on site. I keeps things simple when they can’t have whatever else is on the go. In my experience it was these odd treats that cause more hospital visits than actual school meals.

Why haven’t you told the school your child has a milk intolerance? Surely when they started in September part of the admissions process was to disclose all medical and dietary information for your child’s records. That’s how it works in my school.

This shouldn't have happened.

It sounds like an oversight - someone has sent in something for Diwali and an adult has just put one in everyone's bag. But it still shouldn't have happened.

What do you mean?

She has told the school. Several times

It depends on their individual health care plan. If it says "allergic to eggs but passed egg bake challenge, introduced baked eggs in diet" then they can cook with eggs.

If it says "airborne allergy to peanuts" and they cook with peanuts, the teacher would be rightly in enormous trouble no matter what the outcome

In OP's case, it sounds like there isn't a health care plan, which seems odd.

OP, you need to contact school and sort out. They should have been more proactive, but as they haven't , you need to be.

This is a serious error on the part of the school, you should raise it in writing.

I'd ask for an urgent in-person meeting with the school, get a care plan written.

Dc1 has coeliac and when at school I gave the teachers individually wrapped snacks that the teacher could give dc whenever they weren't 100% sure a food was suitable, we also had a care plan in place (plus photos in the kitchens) and a letter from consultant and dietitian. The school need a plan to ensure this doesn't happen again. I'd arrange a meeting to give you reassurance and let school know it's unacceptable.

He has been at the nursery prior to reception. They have known for almost two years that he is allergic to milk. We have talked about it with them often as well as put it in writing several times.

I'm not sure where you get the impression that they didn't know.

Yes I believe this is the case.

@TicketyBoo11 and not to want to be pedantic but he has an allergy not an intolerance.

That's incorrect as they could easily have a severe reaction to the raw egg. I was told by our allergy consultant to avoid contact with raw egg for my son as he could still have anaphylaxis to it.

But you are right that there should be a clear care plan for every child and the school need to correct that urgently

That’s so strange. My kid’s preschool is respectful of all allergies and dietary limitations. If a child/family brings treats for the class (goodie bags w candy, cookies, etc), the teachers staple the bag/ package and make sure kids can’t get hold of the food. At pick up the food is given to the parent.

Most sensible schools/preschools just ban parents bringing treats for the class. It's just an unnecessary thing anyway

My DS has a peanut allergy and his consultant provided and allergy care plan for his school. If your son is under an allergy specialist, which I assume he is, then they will happily provide something. Do they have an emergency plan of what happens if he is exposed to his allergen? Is there medication in school etc? That will all be part of the plan.

I would make a serious complaint to the school and speak to your allergy consultant.

@WrongSwanson absolutely! Children aren’t allowed to eat food from outside when walking into the school (the school provides breakfast, lunch and snacks). Parents bring goodie bags for kids birthdays though and often there are treats inside. Someone brought chocolate dipped strawberries for valentines this year. So it’s for occasions and not the done thing but people do it. So the teachers put those things away and hand out to parents at pick up