School giving me no notice

Zziggi

As a side issue - i know you can get bread, flour etc onprescription if you are allergic to them and have celiacs, but can you get stuff on prescription if you have other allergies e.g. dairy allergy? Paying £1.26 per carton of milk for my kids (compared to 54p cows milk) is taking its toll on us too.

Sorry to digress from the OPs thread....

Savvy_Sue

peachyprice wrote: »

I know, but OP hasn't said exactly what it is her son is allergic to, all we know is it's 'many things'. So it may not be any of the common baking ingredients, just the added extras. Without knowing what he is allergic to, which the OP isn't saying, it's hard to judge just how unreasonable the teacher is being.

Whatever it is, the teacher is being unreasonable by not giving adequate notice. Even if they are things which might normally be in the store cupboard, we all run out of 'essentials' now and again (or is it just me?)

If the lack of notice is the main problem, I might tackle it by saying to the teacher that if I don't get a week's notice, I will have to raise it with the head / governors.

If it's also or mainly the funding, and I'd rather not discuss my personal affairs with the class teacher, I might start with the head and explain that the system used up to now where you have been subsidising your child's education is no longer viable and you need the teacher to put your son's needs within the budget, and just check with you that the ingredients she plans to use are OK for him. But again, you need a week's notice.

Turn it the other way round: if the teacher gave a week's notice and mum turned up to pick him up the day before and said "Little Johnny can't use X and Y so could you get A and B as substitutes" we wouldn't think that was reasonable, would we?

Zazen999

I'd give her a new list.

List the things that he is allergic to on one side

List the substitute ingredients on the other side.

So

Milk - substitute with Soya Milk or Rice Milk etc

Then, let her have that tomorrow, and make sure the Head is given a copy and it has cc The Headmaster/Mistress on the bottom. Your son can also have a copy in his bag, in a plastic bag, should she lose it.

When you give it to her, tell her that you are just making sure that your son isn't missing out on the lovely baking she is doing as getting the ingredients list the night before isn't working for you, and she can then get these things in advance, whilst she is getting all the other ingredients for all the other children. Then smile, say thank you and walk away.

roswell

Pssst wrote: »

Whats a KS1 and whats a SENCO?

</Completely off topic>

Why do people have to use acronyms when the explination is so much longer than just using the normal words in the first place thats what always confuses me.

<\completely off topic>

Nicki

roswell wrote: »

</Completely off topic>

Why do people have to use acronyms when the explination is so much longer than just using the normal words in the first place thats what always confuses me.

<\completely off topic>

mmm. In this case because KS1 and SENCO are really common school abbreviations which any parent of a school age child with a medical need would instantly understand, and which are always used like this . Like for example a car driver using MOT rather than whatever those initials stand for.

floss2

Nicki wrote: »

......Like for example a car driver using MOT rather than whatever those initials stand for.

I can't even remember why it is called an MOT - I guess it's because originally it would have been a certificate of roadworthiness from the Ministry of Transport? Which doesn't really exist as such anymore......

Sorry OP!

money_saving_diva

Hi,
if I was you I would bite my tounge until September. Then when he starts back in September could you ask her what baking/food activities she has planned for that term. As teachers should be planning ahead - she should know (hopefully :rolleyes:). Say it would be easier to buy the subsitutes all in one go - for example you might see that you need a large quanitity of something so money wise it will work out best to buy a big pack. Explain that you found it dificult last academic year. You never know, it might make her have a chat with you about it and she might realise that she does know what she needs to buy for him and offer to - you can hope!
I also know a mum that has a son with lots of allergies and she has just started getting food on prescription for him - have you asked your GP about this?
Good luck! These sort of situations are so tricky and so unnecessary! Don't let your son miss out.

morganb

I do feel for you, OP. I would suggest meeting with her this term in preparation for September, then giving her a list of subsitute items AND in writing permission for her to purchase / for the school to purchase these items on behalf of your son.

As an aside, my son is about to leave Year 2 and has baked ONCE in his whole school career (and that was coconut ice, so it doesn't really qualify as 'baking' but still a treat nonethless)

jellyhead

Zziggi wrote: »

Paying £1.26 per carton of milk for my kids (compared to 54p cows milk) is taking its toll on us too.

I buy lactofree for my youngest, and normal milk for the rest of us. We got colief on prescription when he was a baby but the GP didn't want to prescribe it after he was 12 months old. I haven't asked if we can get lactofree on presciption, but he only uses 2 cartons a week.

Nursery let him make pancakes but they wouldn't let him eat them because they contained milk I hadn't thought of that. Some children wouldn't be able to handle making food with something they're allergic to though. Nursery have told me I can bring in lactofree for him if I want him to have milk to drink - all the children have milk or water during the session - I assume it will be the same for school too (in september). He doesn't like cold milk so it's never come up. If he did want me to provide milk (a third of a pint?) each day for him it would end up expensive, and perhaps I'd be thinking the same as the OP - why don't school cater for medical needs?

shop-to-drop

I do feel for the OP but what worries me about this is that this teacher will in the end be unable to do the baking with the children. Like another stated my year 2 son did baking only once at school and we paid. It seems that the teacher is in general good and the children get a lot and enjoy the baking but if the headteacher is involved and they start looking at legal issues it may be stopped which seems such a shame.