To expect school dinners for my coeliac daughter?

[jurisfictionoperative]

When my daughter was diagnosed as coeliac, I enquired as to wether there was a gluten free option for school dinners.
I was told that there wasn't as 'they couldn't cater for every preference'!
Excuse me for being picky, but surely vegetarianism is a 'preference', coeliac being a health threatening condition, along with nut and shellfish allergies? I think that this is discrimination, would a disabled person user be denied ramps because they prefer to use a wheelchair? And yes, I know that this is an extreme comparison, but the whole thing makes me cross! We go to a restaurant, and the poor kid has to have chips, or a jacket potato, every time, because nobody caters for coeliacs, yet when I worked as a waitress, we had many more requests for gluten free than vegetarian!

YANBU

I think it must be a location thing too. We are in Stoke on Trent

In my kids school (primary) they have a couple of children with coeliac disease who do have school dinners.
My DS1 is allergic to beans, peas, lentils, nuts and shellfish. When he was first diagnosed I had a meeting with the nutritionist for the City Catering Service and we discussed what he could and couldn't have (at the time he also couldn't have wheat or milk) and then went through the following terms menu and came to an agreement about what he should have. Now at the start of each term I get a copy of the new menu and if there is a problem with it I just go and talk to the head cook at the school. Even with the restrictions in his diet he still gets a choice of about 3 or 4 things each day.
When he couldn't have milk and wheat I did supply pizza bases, bread, pasta, gravy granules and soya milk but we got these on prescription so didn't cost us anything.

Given that it is thought that approx 1% of the population is coeliac, or possibly more as it is still under-diagnosed, schools and LEAs should get their act together over this as it is likely to become an increasing requirement.

Hope you get something positive out of this, jurisfiction (great name, btw) and manage to persuade your local LEA/school to "man up" and address the situation properly.

Hi, at the school I work in meals are prepared on site. To provide meals that are properly gluten free they have to be prepared in an environment where there is no 'normal' flour flying around - and in my school kitchen they can't guarantee that contamination won't occur. Hence my school can't provide a gluten free meal.

My DP and his mother are both coeliac so it's sort of 'normal' for us as a family.

I hope you get something sorted.

Ok, so many of you think it is unreasonable to expect the School shall accomodate dietary needs. I can see the point and I won't trust the food provided any way.
Would it be unreasonable to ask the school/LA to give the parents the money that child would get for lunches so we can pay for the packed lunches we make? can this be possible?

How do people find such old threads?!

I would worry too much about cross contaminiation.

my dd was catered for at nursery - small kitchen hand-made froms cratch food etc. but once in main school no I didnt trust theirm with regards to cross contaminationa dn most food was not suitable - she switched to pack lunch.

my dd is coeliac btw
also you cant compare to wheelchair - she COULD eat jacket potato every day. there will likely be somehting on the menu she could have but wheelchair user jsut cant get into school at all without ramps.

she has a choice:. if she old enough to make careful choices from the menu and to end up possibly having to eat jacket potatoe very day - then she could have school lunch...

"ask the school/LA to give the parents the money that child would get for lunches so we can pay for the packed lunches we make? can this be possible?"

do you get free school meals?

otherwise i cant see how you would be paid for making pack lunch.

my other dd school just started charging for her to eat her pack lunch in school !

Hate it when you get halfway through a thread and then realise it is years old.

What was the point in bumping this?

YANBU it is relatively easy to cater for and in my area they will provide a gluten-free option if there is a medical need. As you say it is a medical need whereas vegetarianism is a preference, so I think if you fight your corner with the Local Authority rather than the kitchen staff they will likely oblige.

As the school (assuming) charges for school meals, they are an option. If you dont want the option, dont purchase them, and send food in.

A child requiring a ramp needs to get into the bujlding each day. It isnt optional.

YANBU, but there's no way I'd trust our school with a medical condition. My veggie DC have school dinners but there have been mistakes - mixing up fish fingers with veggie finger, etc. Clearly there's no harm done in a bite of fish for them, but if it was their health on the line, I'd be sending a packed lunch!

I know it's very much second best, but maybe start a thread to share fantastic ideas for coeliac packed lunches, including warm options? I'm sorry, OP, it is crap.

you need kitchen staff to be fully on board due to cross contamination.
so if LEA orders them to cater - i would not trust them.
best scenario is when one of the school cooks is also a coeliac so thay are aware.

ZOMBIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THREAD!!!

Hmm I am on the fence here. My DS has an allergy to milk and soya, I fully expected to have to provide a lunch for him. However, they do in fact claim to cater for all dietary needs as long as a GP or consultant's letter is provided. So if 1 school can do it, they all should. Having said that, as a teacher I know what a shambles school kitchens can be and I still provide packed lunches because I don't trust them, frankly...

Damn!!!

GreenMango - did you not notice the huge red ZOMBIE THREAD ALERT warning when you decided to answer a thread from four years ago?

YANBU to feel annoyed about this.

My ds1 cannot have school dinners due to multiple severe allergies and dd2 who is due to start in September will not be allowed either as she is diabetic and they will not carb count for her and adjust her insulin, I've been told I will have to put a note in her packed lunch of how much insulin to give as the school will not work it out.
There isn't much I can do about it and to be honest I will just be happy that she has something to eat, its a bit of a pain and a shame dcs can't be the same as their friends but that's just how it is.

I think they should be willing to provide gluten free food, as long as you are prepared to pay the extra that it will cost to produce, including staff.

As a coeliac and someone who works in a school, I can see both sides. The risk of contamination is high considering it only takes a few micrograms and this would be worrying for busy kitchen staff who may not have enough knowledge or understanding. Frankly, I'd never heard of it before I got diagnosed. However, I do feel the school could invite you in to speak to staff and see if there is a way forward - jacket potatoes and gf pasta would be a simple start.

sorry but hasn't the government recently decided that all school children will get free school meals?

im dreading my youngest going at the moment he is allergic to eggs and intolerant to wheat milk oats soya and so much more