Following the prohibition of latex food products such as kiwi and mangoes in 2014, the students at Reigate Park Primary School, in Mackworth, Derbyshire can't bring in anything with chocolates and nuts.
Parents express their outrage and concern that their children might be forced to eat unhealthy food substitutes. They also fear that Reigate teachers inspect their kids' lunchboxes and confiscate the banned products, leaving their off-springs with nothing but Nutella sandwiches for lunch.
One father shares that her daughter feels threatened by the school staff whenever they inspect the students' lunchboxes. Banned foods are being confiscated, leaving kids feeling upset. Her daughter once hid a pack of chocolate biscuits in her pocket in fear that it will get her in trouble with her teachers.
Concerned parents voice their ill feelings saying that most packed products may contain nuts or the products are prepared in an environment exposed to nuts. This makes it painstakingly difficult and virtually impossible to decide which foods to pack if healthy options like banana and kiwi are not allowed to enter school premises.
"We now have new members of our school who could have their life threatened if they were to come into contact with such products," said Head teacher Peter Hallsworth. The school issued the chocolates and nuts ban to all 375 students when the term started. In November 2014, the school requested the parents to avoid packing fruits such as grapes and banana in lunchboxes because someone at the school suffers from a severe reaction to latex foods.
The grandmother of a seven-year-old student at Reigate says that the ban is plain mad. The school has the right to protect its staff and students who suffer from allergic reactions but forcing everyone to stop eating fruits in school will not solve the problem.
In defense, the school mentions that even the slightest hint of nuts or latex from the person's mouth can trigger an allergic reaction but what happens when these people go outside the school and inhale essence of nuts from a shop?
The latest ban on chocolates and nuts will definitely affect the school's rating. In October 2013, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED) gave them a "requiring improvement" rating.
