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Original poster

Free school meals and dietary restrictions

30 replies

Albadross · 01/08/2017 09:58

DS starts school in Sept and has an egg allergy - not anaphylactic and treatable with Piriton. I asked Chartwells to let me know which menu items don't contain egg but they won't tell me, they want a form signed by the headteacher and a letter proving his allergy. The only letter we have is from 2014 so I've sent this with the completed form to the school to ask for the head to sign.

I'm wondering if it's because they're concerned about legal action? I would've been happy to just choose the meals that don't have egg in, seeing as his reaction is just vomiting hours after. I also wondered if it means they wouldn't cater for vegan children because there's no medical/religious requirement, and what they ask in terms of 'proof' for those. Seems a bit of a faff!

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2014newme · 01/08/2017 12:46

I think many with dietary restrictions take packed lunch

user789653241 · 01/08/2017 12:52

Yes, we had packed lunch. Even though the reactions aren't fatal, if it happened at school, it will be horrible for child, and difficult to deal with by the staff. And I don't trust anybody but me for making sure it's 100% safe.

TeenAndTween · 01/08/2017 14:24

I think they are just checking you aren't an over fussy parent.
So they want to see evidence of egg allergy and then they will do whatever is necessary to ensure a suitable meal is provided.

My DD also (or at least used to, haven't checked recently) vomit after having raw/partially cooked egg. When she started school we put this on the medical form, and we were asked for a similar to you. As we didn't actually have a letter (complicated), and it wasn't all egg, we said no worries, we can tell from the menu which meal to choose.

I think if they have a letter, then you are 'in the system'. If they just send out info, then every time the recipe or menu changes they have to tell you. If they have a letter, they know who not to serve with what.

trinity0097 · 01/08/2017 17:46

It's just to weed out fussy/faddy parents/children. They will deal with any allergies decently if they are founded in fact, but not if it's on the whim of a parent who has decided that this month their darling is 'allergic' to eggs

Original poster
Albadross · 02/08/2017 20:09

It seems a shame that children with allergies wouldn't benefit from free meals, I really just wanted them to tell me which menu items had egg as part of the recipe. The school told me something completely different, which didn't help - if I hadn't gone directly to Chartwells I wouldn't have known I had to provide evidence at all.

OP posts:
trinity0097 · 02/08/2017 20:14

Why do you think that children with allergies can't have free meals. If it is a genuine allergy then they will provide suitable food. They just want to know it's a genuine allergy and not a fussy child, as often providing food that is non allergen is more expensive.

3wayburger · 02/08/2017 20:14

I was a school cook in a primary school.
We catered for all children with allergies as long as proof was provided.
Proof was needed so special food and separate utensils could be provided.
We also cater for vegans

Maya12 · 02/08/2017 23:41

My son is severely dairy allergic and both school meal providers have been excellent. He's not getting great choice, but there's always at least one thing he can have and we both much prefer school meals to packed lunches. Just get in touch with the provider once your dc has started and check you're happy with what they tell you.

Original poster
Albadross · 03/08/2017 11:05

I was responding to pp saying to give him packed lunches

OP posts:
Original poster
Albadross · 03/08/2017 11:05

Sorry that was replying to Trinity

OP posts:
AtleastitsnotMonday · 03/08/2017 14:03

I wonder if it's a cost thing in some cases. If you buy gluten free pasta for example it's notably more expensive than regular pasta. Therefore they only want to pay out for children with a genuine allergy.
I work in a private school, we don't ask for proof and cater for all dietary requirements. Our funds are however not as limited.

user789653241 · 03/08/2017 18:09

I think I would have tried to get school dinners if my ds has only one allergen like OP. My ds's allergy is too complicated(couple of fatal ones, few bad ones(vomit, explosive diarrhea), and many mild ones!

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 04/08/2017 08:10

It really is probably just to weed out the non genuine claims.

Every year I see a raft of dietary forms with 'allergic to milk' and then the child is refused ice cream at the counter and parent comes in all guns blazing; I show her the dietary form and the allergens list for the ice cream (contains milk) and suddenly it's 'oh he just doesn't LIKE milk'. We've also had 'allergic to vegetables' and, on a non dietary note 'allergic to ball games'!

When we changed caterers and had an allergy audit we only ended up with one genuine, medically supported allergy and two intolerances where it didn't matter if, for instance, the cake or custard contained egg, but the child could not eat an egg in its pure form. The genuine allergy could only eat food from a 'free from' environment so we couldn't cater for him unfortunately.

catkind · 04/08/2017 08:23

With chartwells at DC school the kids choose the meals at point of use, and often one option is run out, so they'd want to provide a separate set aside meal to ensure your DC get an allergy safe meal. I should imagine part of requiring a letter is to ensure the exact allergy details are known for safety, and it would have to go via school so school can set in place arrangements to ensure child gets the intended meal. I don't think they refuse if you don't have a diagnosis, but putting in a process ensures people don't switch around on fads and whims.

catkind · 04/08/2017 08:25

The genuine allergy could only eat food from a 'free from' environment so we couldn't cater for him unfortunately.
Are you allowed to refuse? I would have thought you'd just have to find a free from source. Surprised.

user789653241 · 04/08/2017 08:31

Bugger, I haven't even tried to get school dinners from the start due to his complicated allergies. (School knows all this since we provide them medical form along with Epipen.)
But I always had a impression if we requested, they needed to provide what he can eat. So the school can simply say they can't, even parents want their kids to have school meals?

(Tbh, I wouldn't trust others. Even the hospital catering gave him something wrong, and council run residential ended up him being sick on day 1.)

ninnypoo · 04/08/2017 09:06

The caterers my school uses provides an individual menu for children requiring it, based on what they can/can't eat. They needed advance notice with a letter from the consultant/GP stating exactly what they couldn't eat though.

milkjetmum · 04/08/2017 09:14

I did get lactose free menu for dd1 (during food exclusion trial recommended by paed) but as pp said had to provide doctors note. She was 5/6 and they gave her a wristband to wear at lunchtime to make sure all catering staff knew which I thought was a good idea rather than relying on memory of child and would prevent problems if new or temp staff in duty.

milkjetmum · 04/08/2017 09:15

Only 'problem' was that they gave her a dairy free rather than lactose free menu but I can understand why that was easier for them, and wasn't a big deal to me.

user789653241 · 04/08/2017 09:26

That is my greatest fear, milkjet, at my ds's residential, they gave him gluten free stuff, not wheat free. He is not gluten intolerant, he is allergic to wheat, which was written clearly on the medical form. Ended up him having horrible vomiting all night.
Some of them seems not to recognise the difference between intolerance and allergy.

potatoscowls · 04/08/2017 09:28

Crap system. Everyone has a right to know what goes in their food. You don't need an allergy to legitimately avoid eggs - veganism is not a fad.
Why wouldn't they tell you!?

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 04/08/2017 09:34

@catkind
Are you allowed to refuse? I would have thought you'd just have to find a free from source. Surprised.

It would have meant building a Kitchen extension with totally separate food storage and prep areas. 'Free from' food is easy, a 'free from' environment isn't.

We did our best but even his mum used to struggle, she DID have an extension and he had his own fridge etc. But the slightest hint of the allergen made him very sick - not life threatening but very very ill.

PoppyPopcorn · 04/08/2017 09:34

In our school kids with allergies or religious needs usually take packed lunch. Every day there are only two choices - one meat, one vegetarian, so if you have a child allergic to dairy, or eggs, or beans, or any of the multitide of other things that you can potentially be allergic to, your choice is very limited.

School caterers just can't accommodate every medical restriction when it comes to meals, or every preference or dietary requirement, it's not practical.

user789653241 · 04/08/2017 09:57

That sound pretty unrealistic, Bugger.
If you can't cater for him by avoiding all the fatal and airbourne ingredients like nuts in whole school, and using separate utensils/pots in the kitchen cannot avoid him making him really ill, how can he cope with normal school life? How about residue of what children ate at home? Or what other children are having at lunch hall?

catkind · 04/08/2017 10:31

I would have thought for example buying in pre-packaged "free from" food to be eaten in a classroom not the hall would meet the requirements. Might be cold but at least a meal would be provided, which I thought was a legal requirement. But perhaps I got that wrong.

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