School giving me no notice

Prudent

I haven't read the whole thread, so apologises if I repeat some points.

I am wondering how the other ingredients are funded. Teacher's fund a huge amount from their own pockets - far more than parents realise. If you are not being asked to pay anything there is a possiblity the teacher is footing the bill.

I bake a lot with my class. They all have special needs, so the baking is funded from our curriculum budget. Some of the children have dietry requirments and I have to bake a slightly different recipe for them often using more expensive ingredients. I usually try and shop for them, but we do ask the parents to provide some things. We have no obligation to fund it ourselves. Where children require soya milk etc we ask the parents to send this in - with reasonable notice.

I am sure the teacher would happily agree to keep a store cupboard of some basic ingredients like gluten free flour if you send them in plastic containers.

Remember we shop for ingredients in our own time, not work time. I know this is a hassle for you, but I really don't feel like a detour via a busy supermarket at the end of a long and hard day. I do it for the children.

Perhaps you could ask the teacher for a 'basics' list at the start of term and then just top up with fresh ingredients as required.

Nicki

Prudent wrote: »

We have no obligation to fund it ourselves.

I'm sorry but I disagree with this.

OP has said that the teacher is using baking to teach the curriculum. Its not an occasional treat but an integral part of the school day. If OP's child has documented allergies, he is not allowed to be excluded from the curriculum or disadvantaged in any way as a result of these.

I am the SEN governor at a local primary school and have also been involved with the local authority inclusion panel as a parent rep, and I know that this is the approach which would be taken in our LEA and AFAIK it is the law.

As for shop-to-drop's point, there are many ways to teach the curriculum, and if the school isn't prepared to meet OP's child's needs from central funds, then they need to find a way other than cooking to do it, or to ask all the parents to fund the ingredients, not just OP. It's just not acceptable to discriminate against one child because of their medical needs, and I feel sure you wouldn't be so blase about it if your own child was affected in this way.

tw1nklestar

I think firstly before you presume that the ingredients come out of the school budget you may need to confirm this as if we want to cook with the class for a nurmeracy session (weighing and counting) or literacy (time connectives and following instructions) we supply the ingredients out of our own pockets. Using cookery is hopefully enjoyable learning for the children.

As for asking for long term plans perhaps the teacher would again find it difficult as medium term plans are not the same as lesson plans listing the objectives to me taught in the term not the lessons. Plans are mostly done on a weekly basis.

Although i have sympathy with OP i also see that the teacher is trying to make the learning hands on and fun. Ask the SENCO or head teacher if the additional costs (if the class teacher funds the rest of the class) could be met by the special needs budget.

Prudent

We do not have an obligation to fund it because the process may be part of the curriculum e.g. weighing ingredients or organising utensils, but tasting the finished product is unlikely to be the learning outcome. I always try and make sure that we make something all children can taste, but that is a personal choice because I would hate to see them miss out. The only exception I make is when I cannot get the ingredients in one of the big supermarkets.

I am lucky in that the school funds the baking for my class. We can spend around £5 on ingredients each time. This will really add up for a teacher that is funding baking themselves.

Prudent

Nicki wrote: »

I'm sorry but I disagree with this.
As for shop-to-drop's point, there are many ways to teach the curriculum, and if the school isn't prepared to meet OP's child's needs from central funds, then they need to find a way other than cooking to do it, or to ask all the parents to fund the ingredients, not just OP. It's just not acceptable to discriminate against one child because of their medical needs, and I feel sure you wouldn't be so blase about it if your own child was affected in this way.

I do have a child with special needs and have funded extras for her myself. In an ideal world it would all the funded by the school, but I know it will often come out of the teacher's own pocket.

jellyhead

shop-to-drop wrote: »

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.

Why If the teacher has to buy special ingredients for the OP's child then she could use that same budget to buy ingredients so EVERYONE can cook 6 times instead of cooking 10 times and asking the OP to fund the special ingredients.

I appreciate that special ingredients could cost a lot more than the supermarket value ingredients, but the OP's child can't help his allergies, and if his mum can't afford the special ingredients (plus all the extra bus fares if she has to make an extra journey at short notice, perhaps the day after she already did her supermarket shop) then OP's child will have to miss out.

Would you prefer the OP's child to miss out every time, rather than the whole class just bake less often, or their parents to pay in the same way the OP does?

Zziggi

We're digressing from the OPs thread, but anyway...

jellyhead wrote: »

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.

I am thinking of asking at the GPs and the local pharmacy about dairy free products. Both my children are allergic to cows milk and it gets VERY expensive. Special milk, cheese, yogurt, avoiding common foods etc etc. The milk & yogurt is more than double the price of cows yogurt. £1.26 per carton of milk, £2.19 suitable natural yogurt, £1.39 alpro soya desserts (to have in for emergencies), £2.89 for a teensy bit of cheese. It does get expenisve. Like the OP I am also on benefits and it is noticably expensive. Having said that, because of the dietry probs we never ever go out to eat in cafes or restaurants so you save money there -not that i could afford to eat out at the minute, but an "average" family who had kids with this problem probably would prefer to eat out.

jellyhead wrote: »

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?

I have also wondered this too! Why can't school provide suitable milk if they are eligible? At nursery my DD was given water to drink but they always sent home a carton of milk every day as they said it was her entitlement (poor area of town). The school offers free milk to those under five or you pay £1 per week for a carton of fruit juice each day and over five you pay £1 a week for a carton of milk of fruit juice. Given this, I have always sent £1 in each week. Never had the "entitlement" sent home though (comfortably well-off area).

Nicki

Prudent wrote: »

We do not have an obligation to fund it because the process may be part of the curriculum e.g. weighing ingredients or organising utensils, but tasting the finished product is unlikely to be the learning outcome.

But in that case, I think you'll find that the LEA would say that if you are regularly using stuff which one child can't taste, then none of the children can do so.

I appreciate this may be what you are doing in practice Prudent, but I do wonder whether this is an approach which has even been thought about, much less sanctioned by, your school. I think if a parent were to complain about you, you'd rapidly find yourself to be on very thin ice.

KellyWelly

Nicki wrote: »

But in that case, I think you'll find that the LEA would say that if you are regularly using stuff which one child can't taste, then none of the children can do so.

I appreciate this may be what you are doing in practice Prudent, but I do wonder whether this is an approach which has even been thought about, much less sanctioned by, your school. I think if a parent were to complain about you, you'd rapidly find yourself to be on very thin ice.

And that parent would selfish and mean spirited, frankly.

Zziggi

KellyWelly wrote: »

And that parent would selfish and mean spirited, frankly.

Or alternatively, the parent would be seen to be attempting to make sure their child is treated as same as everyone else. I could imagine myself in the OPs shoes. If my DS & DD were told they couldn't try foods because they contain dairy products as a ONE OFF, the I would just explain to them why they can't and leave it at that. However if my DS & DD were persistently told they couldn't try foods because they contain dairy products & the teacher made no attempt to try to adapt receipes/use dairy-free products/ask me for alternatives, then I would become the "selfish and mean spirited" parent KellyWelly talks of.