Principals Message

Dear parents and carers,

Just recently we have had a few conversations with some students and parents about being an allergy aware school. Whilst we have a policy and procedure we cannot monitor every lunchbox and given the number of foods to which a student may be allergic to, it is not possible to remove all allergens. Our System of Schools does not promote that we either ‘ban nuts’ or are ‘nut-free’. Promoting a school as ‘nut-free’ is not recommended for the following reasons:

• It is impractical to implement and enforce;
• There is no evidence of effectiveness;
• It does not encourage the development of strategies for avoidance in the wider school community; and
• It may encourage complacency about risk minimisation strategies (for teachers, students and parents/carers) if a food is banned.

We consider that being ‘allergy aware’ is a more appropriate term. Whilst we do not claim to be ‘nut-free’, minimising exposure to particular foods such as peanuts and tree nuts can reduce the level of risk. This can include removing nut spreads and products containing nuts from the school canteen, but does not include removing products that ‘may contain traces’ of peanuts or tree nuts.

We request that parents/carers do not include nut spreads in sandwiches or products containing nuts in their lunch box.

Peer support and understanding is important for the student at risk of allergies (in particular anaphylaxis). This is spoken about in our classrooms. 

Please give some thought to what you put on your child’s sandwich or what you pack. Anaphylaxis is  very serious and very scary for the child and  their family.  And for us at school trying to keep everyone safe and cared for we need support from the whole school community.

Kind regards,

Jen