Children cooking school lunches

[BeDenimZebra]

My children have been complaining about finding hair in their school lunches for a couple of months now, I thought they were exaggerating as I know they prefer packed lunches as it allows more playtime but I like them to have a hot nutritious meal as often as possible.

A friends child was here playing today and mentioned the hair too and said it was because the nurture children won't wear hats when making the lunches.

On further exploration it turns out that some children who require extra support are helping to cook the lunches that we pay for every day and looking at the photos on the school website they do not appear to be wearing ppe like the adult kitchen staff do.

I am uncomfortable with young primary children preparing food that is in effect being sold commercially. I don't know how long this has been happening for but the write up on the website suggest it is a regular thing. I feel it is inappropriate that regular food hygiene practices seem to be ignored for the children helping in the pictures which seems to back up my childrens complaints about hair in food.

The school are notorious for being unwilling to discuss concerns of parents and I don't really want to get into a conflict with them if I am being over sensitive about this but when I'm spending £50 a week (between 3 children for lunch and morning snack) I feel they should be hygienically prepared. I know I could just relent and do packed lunches but I would rather they had a decent hot meal. Also I suspect that many other parents are also not aware of this scheme.

I will try and resolve directly with school first but they have a reputation for being difficult with parents who they perceive as critical of them. Will hold environmental health as my fall back position

Id talk to the school and say you children have been finding hair in their lunches on x days, your worried about hygiene issues. Don't elaborate on anything else

Me too and I also work in a school kitchen children (or any other school staff) aren’t allowed to cross the doorway for health and safety reasons.

I think it’s great that some of the children who need additional support get to have time in the kitchen as that’s also a good practical life skill many children seem to grow up without learning. However, I wouldn’t be happy if it means meals I am paying for aren’t hygienically prepared and hairs are in the food on a regular basis.

I would triple check the facts and go in to have a chat about this. Ultimately though I can see three lots of packed lunches in your future!

There’s a difference in having cooking lessons as part of the curriculum and being used to make other kids lunches. They aren’t there to work for or serve other kids. I assume the “normal” kids aren’t cooking for their peers.

It’s quite telling that the main concern seems to be hygiene rather than children, who by nature of their additional support needs are vulnerable, making lunches for other kids in school. What an appalling message to give them - instead of providing you with the education every other child is entitled to, we’re going to put you to work in the school kitchen. What a clear message about their worth.

This is wild. To teach cooking in school we have to do a food hygiene certificate with the food standards agency and it absolutely would not allow this.

Our catering team do even more and would never allow a child in the kitchen for safety reasons.

If school don’t listen, go to food standards agency.

My main concern is the hygiene aspect, however if it were my children being taken out of lessons I would not be happy about that But to be fair to the school I have no idea how regularly each child does this or what they are missing out on when they are cooking.

Hi OP,
have you looked into what a nurture group is?
It’s not what some pp are alluding to above and they are not cooking school meals.
By all means complain about the hair but if I were you, I would not point the finger at the nurture group because I expect you will get short shrift from the school because you’d be blaming the wrong source.
In schools there are very strict hygiene standards and compliance to food preparation laws is mandatory- there is simply no way groups of children without hairnets are cooking for the school.
They might make cookies or their own group lunches eg cutting fruit or something but not what your children are eating.
Do complain about the hair though!! I’m menopausal and have hair shedding like mad and (I don’t cook for a living) am very careful cooking for myself even… children generally don’t shed like older people (hair I mean obviously).

Except the OP says the school website openly says nurture children help in the school kitchen making other children’s lunches.

@Jellycatspyjamas
She doesn’t say that explicitly - she said “On further exploration it turns out that some children who require extra support are helping to cook the lunches that we pay for every day and looking at the photos on the school website they do not appear to be wearing ppe like the adult kitchen staff do.”

She might mean what you say she says but she didn’t say the information on the website was that nurture group children were cooking the lunches that [she] pays for.
She said the website doesn’t show them wearing PPE.

This is Nurture UK’s website
www.nurtureuk.org/training-and-events/

Sorry I should have been clearer, the school website does state that 'children who require extra support both socially and emotionally can take part in our kitchen nuture programme in which they assist our kitchen staff with preparing the schools delicious home cooked lunches for the school community.' This is accompanied by a number of photos of children in the schools kitchen with the chef preparing food wearing just their normal school uniform. This of course could have been staged for the photo opportunity and they could normally wear PPE but even so I don't know that your average primary aged child can be relied on not to sneeze into the soup or cough over the mash!

This sounds very unlikely so I would definitely approach the school in a fact finding rather than accusatory way.

Give us the name of the school and one of us will report it - EHO needs to get on this asap!

I really feel I ought to speak to the school in the first instance, I just wanted to check if this was a common set up and I was being o er sensitive! If they don't engage in a dialogue and can't offer reassurance I will indeed report to environmental health.

Could you speak to somebody on the Governing board? There should be a parent representative.

I don't know how involved they would be in day to say stuff, wouldn't it be the school office in the first instance? Thankfully I haven't had to question anything before!

My grandson refused school lunches because the staff do not wear gloves and he said their nails looked dirt! He now takes packed lunch, he also didn’t feel the portions were enough. He’s a normal healthy weight 9 year old.
it was highlighted to the school m.

What in the dickensian child labour nightmare???? You've got school kids preparing and serving hot food in school kitchens?

Food handlers working in kitchens need training in food safety and hygiene and basic kitchen safety. How old are these kids?

Hair in the food, no bueno. Get trained kitchen staff. This is so unsafe and the kids could be at risk. Are they cheaping out on labour costs using kids?

WTF?

As an ex-governor this is definitely something that would be addressed in meetings if a parent brought it up. Maybe ask about the health and safety aspect of it. For the children in the kitchen, the cook and the children eating possibly contaminated food.

As a governor you wouldn't have directly taken parent complaints though?

OP needs to contact the headteacher first, not the governors.

What are they doing, brushing their hair over the food daily? The occasional hair I could believe, but not to the extent you’re pretending.

Or the children are pretending.

Is it a Rudolph Steiner school,? My cousins went to one, very odd place. I've googled my nearest Steiner school and reveiws have been turned off. Anyone thinking of sending their children to one ,just don't!