School lunch rant - Would you complain?

GobbledyGook

Banwa - the note is a standard typed one that says

Dear Parent or Guardian,

As you are aware we are keenly following a healthy eating programme which we encourage all pupils to follow. As such we occasionally remove unsuitable items from children and replace them with a healthy alternative. Today your child had ____________ removed and it was replaced with _________. Please read over your guidebook and thank you for your co-operation.

Someone, presumably the TA, has written "whole lunch" in the first blank space and then "school lunch" in the second space. Then underneath it has written "Dunkable dips are not an appropriate packed lunch for a child. Far too much food in her box. xxx was given a school lunch, please pay for this tomorrow. Guidebook enclosed for you." The guidebook leaflet has a circle around the section about portion size.

Possibly there wasn't enough carbs in the breadsticks, but no reason to remove the whole lunch.

Loz01 - that's nonsense. Youghurts are my main way of getting fruit and calcium into my youngest (unlike the big one she's mega, mega fussy!).

Gemma x

gizmo111

Outrageous and over the top behaviour from the school
This may help you in the morning

from here http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/content.asp?ContentId=568#one
Are schools allowed to inspect / search pupils’ packed lunches and to confiscate items?

As far as searching packed lunches are concerned, looking in a lunch box could constitute searching a pupil's possessions, but not searching the pupil. In which case, there is no statute which explicitly bans school staff from looking in a lunch box.
It is good practice to discuss items against the school rules with the pupil and parents rather than confiscate them immediately.
However, if the school intends on confiscating food items it would be advisable for the school to inform parents of this beforehand. It would also be good practice for the pupil to be present during the search and if staff were expecting to find and confiscate items that were against the school rules, for a second member of staff to be present.
If authorities and schools are concerned about their legal position, they should seek their own legal advice.

Janepig

GobbledyGook wrote: »

Banwa - the note is a standard typed one that says



Someone, presumably the TA, has written "whole lunch" in the first blank space and then "school lunch" in the second space. Then underneath it has written "Dunkable dips are not an appropriate packed lunch for a child. Far too much food in her box. xxx was given a school lunch, please pay for this tomorrow. Guidebook enclosed for you." The guidebook leaflet has a circle around the section about portion size.

Possibly there wasn't enough carbs in the breadsticks, but no reason to remove the whole lunch.

Loz01 - that's nonsense. Youghurts are my main way of getting fruit and calcium into my youngest (unlike the big one she's mega, mega fussy!).

Gemma x

I'm struggling with the "too much food" bit. How can you give them too much food when what you'd provided was healthy and presumably she didn't have to eat it all. I'd rather see a child have enough and leave some than not have enough. I mean if you'd put in those Dairylea dunkers things, well then they're not particlularly good are they but still not confiscatable imo, but it was a healthy dip and dippers. Madness, that's what this is.

When DD has packed lunch (once a week) she has a pile of sandwiches (ham) with cubes of cheddar cheese in with them, a yoghurt stick (frozen, but melted by lunchtime), those party/picnic egg things, usually about 3, some cocktail sausages or some sausage rolls, a fruit winder (I know, but she loves them) a fox's oaty choc chip cookie bar thing and some raisins, with water to drink. And she's like a stick insect, honestly, she's so thin and as fit as a fiddle. But I'd rather put plenty in and make sure she's eaten enough than see her go hungry.

TheEffect

I work at a school (and am a classroom assistant/LSA). Personally, I would tell the school where to go. If I noticed any member of staff removing food from a child in their lunch-time, I'd be having words. If you want to send your child to school with dairy lea lunchables etc, then it's nothing to do with the staff.

The only food I've every confiscated is these 'sherbet sticks' from when the pupils were eating them during class.

kelloggs36

I agree - she is YOUR child, so YOU make the decisions as to what she eats. I get angry with my son's school who used to come to me in the staff room and tell me he hadn't eaten his school lunch (when we had stupidly left his packed lunch at home - doh!) I said that I couldn't force him to eat it if he doesn't want to. As I worked there I found it intrusive - they would't have phoned me at another place of work to ask what they should do as he wouldn't eat!!!!!!

As for removing food - that is disgusting - unless it was clearly unsuitable, like takeaway fish and chips!

bylromarha

OP- calm down if you can. Just read you're pregnant...chill out if poss. Write your list, grab a hot chocolate and de-stress before bedtime.

It'll be sorted in the morning, no point thinking about it anymore tonight.

MrsE_2

Lydia82 wrote: »

I have a feeling that the TA probably doesn't know what humous and guacamole are, she may have seen them with the other dips in the fridge cabinet and thinking they're all the same.

Like others have said, you should not hand over any money for the meal they gave to your daughter.

It's threads like this that make me more determined to home school.

Thats what I think, I bet she thought the hummus was some sort of cheese dipper.

bylromarha

GobbledyGook wrote: »

I could totally understand why they brought it in, even though I didn't agree with it. I'm just a bit concerned at a) how far it's gone b) what they are terming bad and mostly c) them using words like "fat" and "banned" to my 7-year-old. There are no banned foods in our house, there are some foods that the kids are allowed to help themselves to anytime (fruit and chopped pepper and carrot) and foods that are limited because they are not as healthy.


I'm just struggling to work out what the woman thought was unhealthy. When she told me about it at first I thought it was the strawberry milk that was the problem, but it seems to have been the hummus and guacamole which has puzzled me.


Gemma x

I know the feeling BTW. My 3 year old is talking to me about having a glass of water, becuase it's healthly. And about how chocolate is bad for her - I feel really sad that I'm having to explain to my beautiful little girl that too much chocolate is bad for her, but a little bit every now and then is just right. I KNOW it's all coming from Nursery, nowhere else she can get it from as she only really watches a bit of CBeebies 1 hr max a week, else TV is off. And I can't see it being the topic of conversation with her peers...

My guess is the TA objected to the "dip" nature of the lunch. If you think of most dip lunches as processed cheese or mayo based dips, then the fat content is high. I suspect the TA saw it was dips and didn't see any further than that.

msb5262

Hello OP,
Surely there are complex carbohydrates in hummus?
The lunch sounds fabulous and entirely appropriate.
Be calm and I'm sure you'll be able to get the headteacher to understand your point of view.
Let us know how it goes!
MsB

Liquorice_Twirls

This is in today's Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1269522/Boy-left-tears-nursery-confiscates-unhealthy-cheese-sandwich.html

A 2 year old boy had his cheese sandwich confiscated from his packed lunch and was offered fruit and vegetables instead.

The nursery has a list of 'healthy options' which doesn't include cheese.

This is the food police gone mad! I'm shocked that this and the way the OP's child was treated is even legal. They are encouraging children to become obsessive about eating.

All nutritionists recommend a balanced diet, and lunch is only one meal a day. School lunches only comprise at most 5 meals a week. How on earth can school staff know what else in the week children are eating or what they had to eat yesterday? Too much fruit and vegetables in place of protein and carbohydrates can be just as bad for very young children.