School lunch / interval snacks

[Lovelyjubbbly]

Hi I’m completely new to this my son starts primary one this coming Wednesday (Scotland)

I’m just looking for ideas what are schools like these days regarding packed Lunch and snacks for interval/ play time. It was so different when I was younger are children still aloud crisps biscuits / chocolate for snacks / in the lunch box. I will be putting healthy things in his pack lunch box fruit crackers etc..

Policy varies from school to school and area. Nuts are usually banned, along with sweets and fizzy drinks.

Tey are also entitled to a free lunch.

We do a cereal bar or banana

@PuttingDownRoots @MissHoollie

Thanks . Yes he is entitled to a free lunch but he is very fussy and doesn’t like a lot of common things like butter cheese milk the list goes on . I might give the school a call on Monday as they’re open for Inservice day .

Is there a packed lunch policy on the website?

My dcs always took fruit for break and took a packed lunch mostly. Packed lunch was sandwich/wrap, yoghurt pouch, fruit (grapes, strawberries, satsuma (peeled into segments), etc) and a small biscuit item. Had a water bottle too.

If you look on the schools website they should have a section for policies and this may well include any guidelines about what they allow for snack/lunches.

I don't think they are as strict with packed lunches in Scotland as they seem to be in England. We just weren't to have nut products or fizzy drinks in the lunches.

Ds liked a banana for snack and we bought a plastic banana guard to stop it getting bruised

My school isn't very strict. Just the usual nuts and fizzy drinks.

My eldest takes chocolate or pringles for playtime. And the youngest takes a fruit bar.

In Scotland yes you can pretty much out in what you want as along as it's not sweets ie haribo ime. (although I work in a school and I turn a blind eye) You likely won't get an accurate answer on here as schools are far more restrictive on many things in England where majority of posters are from. Worth double checking with school but you'll almost certainly be allowed a packet of crisps and some Oreo's

Also on my local authority area you are allowed nuts

We weren't allowed nuts in our particular school as there were a couple of kids with allergies to them. Dont know about other schools in the LA

@WeWereInParis the school website has just been done up and there’s not much information on it To be bare minimum. I will call the school. Hes also the only child from his nursery going to school so I can’t really ask any of the parents from the Nursery. I suppose every school is different

Our school doesn’t seem to have any particular restrictions. My DS is allergic to peanuts (thankfully not too severely sensitive, so other kids eating them is not a problem) and nut free for the school has never ever been mentioned.

My kids have school lunches, but they usually take crisps or mini cheddars or a cereal bar or fruit for snack. They of course insist everyone else has full size chocolate bars, but I do draw the line there. From speaking to other parents, my kids snacks are v normal for our school.

I personally preferred the rule at our previous school (not Scotland) that snack had to be a fruit or vegetable. It made my life easier as they didn’t argue about it.

According to ds "everyone" else took cans of fizzy juice, crisps and full sized sharing chocolate bars "every day" from P1 right through to P7. My reply was always"thats nice" or "no chance" and he got the usual sandwich/wrap, fruit/veg, yoghurt and water.

Get your dc into the habit of eating as heathly as possible while you can as it will get harder as they progress through school. Don't worry about what others have and watch out for the tall tales of all the treats everyone else gets.

Nuts where not banned until he was in P3 when a severely allergic child started in P1. Your school will let you know if they are not allowed in your school.

The nut ban at our school does come with the request that children in certain classes don't have them for breakfast as well.

At one point ginger biscuits/gingerbread men were also banned.

You'd be surprised. I work in a school. We have kids coming in with share size bags of Doritos and haribo, full size packs of Pringles, a meal deal with sandwich, grab bag of crisps or double choc bar and a bottle of fizzy juice. Your dc isn't necessarily fibbing!

Children should not have crisps or chocolate daily, regardless of what policy says-shocked some people are saying that. Crackers or small banana are best

If they've not given you a copy of a packed lunch policy, and don't have one online, I'd just send what I considered to be a suitable lunch until I was told otherwise.

Schools I've worked in P1's usually have fruit or squeezy yogurt or and drink for snack, lunch is half sandwich, grapes, biscuit or chopped vegetables like carrot, celery cucumber. Many schools are no nuts due to allergies. Make sure your kid can easily carry and open lunch/snack bags, kind with carry handle are easiest. Playtime snack is better not inside lunchbag as lunch can fall out when collecting snack. Don't include faffy things or anything that needs heated as schools can't do that.

Thanks Guys! I’ll just put the usual I would probably make him at home for a lunch! There nothing on website or anything or haven’t been told on any letters regarding lunch or snack! Just says at 2pm daily they will have story time and fruit break so I have to put a small piece of fruit in his bag for that each day.

Do they not have a morning break?
Ours had a morning break and lunch with no afternoon break

Yeah they have a morning break around 10 I think then lunch . Then 2pm they have a fruit break with a story that’s only primary 1 till primary 3 never heard of it before myself 😂 @dementedpixie

One of the absolute best things I did for my fussy eater was stop packed lunches. He just got used to eating with his peers and eats so well now.

The school also offer an option of a tuna or cheese sandwich if they don't like the main option one day.

My oldest says even in his class of p5s only about 3 or 4 are packed lunch and sit sepetately from the other kids. You don't want your child left out.

Playtime snack I give crisps or a banana. Nuts are banned including Nutella. Sweets discouraged although they give cake /custard/ice cream daily 🤷🏻‍♀️

Good luck to your wee one

Fruit break might be the daily free fruit (do they get that in Scotland?)