General Chat

I'D BE MORE WORRIED IF MY SIX YEAR OLD DIDN'T EAT

Schoolboy, 6, suspended for having Mini Cheddars in his lunchbox

Senior staff at Colnbrook C of E primary school concluded that Riley Pearson should be kept away from lessons for four days for continuously contravening its healthy eating policy.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/01/schoolboy-6-suspended-for-having-mini-cheddars-in-his-lunchbox-4286475/

Well I'm disgusted with the schools decision to keep a child away from his school work after all it's not his fault that his parents pack his lunch box with forbidden food! and to punish him for their mistake is dreadful I would certainly be taking this up with the authorities. Good for the school for having a Healthy Eating Policy but I don't think it's up to them to force the issue. :-|

Despite meeting with his parents, they still didn't follow the 'healthy eating' policy. Its not mentioned if there were any other schools rules they aided and abetted their son to break.

" a sandwich, yogurt tube, Dairylea Dunkers cheese snack, Mini Chedders and a bottle of water." seems a bit heavy on the carbs and fats. Where's the fruit and veg? Even if he doesn't like fresh fruit, they might have got away with dried fruit (apples, bananas, sultans) even if there was a bit too much natural sugar in them.

It's seems a shame that the son was punished for his parents transgressions - if they couldn't or wouldn't comply, they could always move him to another school which isn't so strict.

I wonder if the headmaster is an over stressed Scorpio, which equals control freak. Unless there is another issue that has not been discussed. All things in moderation,that is why as an O.A.P. I have scoffed a Snicker bar after my dinner this evening.

Healthy eating policy?

I remember some of the school "dinners" I had as a child in Scotland....mostly stodge & the desserts were full of sugar........ and when I went to Scotland on holiday I was shocked when told my cousins' children had a choice of food..... and they usually picked chips!!

4 days away from school? That's not good.

But Maybe, the kid is smarter than you think.
Hope the others don't copy.

Bill in Oz

I am wondering if their healthy eating policy equally applies to members of staff, and if so, would a staff member found to be breaching it - get suspended ;-)

I work in a school & a child would never be suspended for having the wrong food in their lunch box!

If push came to shove the worst that would happen would be that the child would have to go home for lunches in the care of the parent.

Our school has a healthy lunch policy but really only bans chocolate bars & chocolate covered snacks/biscuits, fizzy drinks & of course sweets.

To suspend a child's learning time over this is disgusting, providing the packed lunch issue is the only issue.

EDIT, some of these church schools love to lay down the law in many areas!

Look further! I agree its really not on to suspend the child.
It looks like the school has some serious issues, it's failing desperately in all areas

The head named on the website, it different to the head named in the schools inspectorate report, only 12 months ago.

Sounds like its a new-ish head tryng desperately to keep this school going- fundamentally it reads like a lovely school, Trying his best, it sounds as though this judgement is wrong, although personally I doubt its really about mini cheddars at all.

QUOTE

‘We just do not see how they have the right to tell us what we can feed our son."

Actually they can, if its on the school premises in school time. Think how fair it is to the other kids who abide by the healthy eating rule, seeing another child eat whatever they want "because of your rights".

Not eating chocolate or biscuits at lunch wont kill a child, save the banned food for after 3pm, when its your rights to change your child out of its uniform, let them watch telly & parent in which way you wish.

How hard is it to change one aspect of your child's lunch?
And for the record, those packets the child is holding are enormous. Leaving that out of his lunchbox wont make a dent in how much this 6 year old needs to eat at school, and most schools will offer a snack, mid morning included or paid for so he wont starve!

Mini Cheddars are horrible anyway.

It is probably abusive behaviour to feed them to a child.

I think this is very hard on the child - but I can't believe it was done without a previous warning to the family. Surely there must have been a previous occasion when the family were told that they must provide a better meal or else?

I agree that the child should not have taken mini cheddars in his lunch box but not allowing him in school for 4 days!!!! If the parent had taken the child out of school for a holiday they would have been fined. Double standards here I think. Just my opinion.

So, you want a few days away in term time. You don't want to pay a silly fine so what else can you do?

You can send your child to school with a bag of Mini Cheddars!

Certainly not defending the school but I do feel the need to point out it isn't the schools fining people for taking kids on holiday it's the government. Two different things. So no double standard.

I like mini cheddars.

I think school's put policys in place for a reason, n iv been on school trips were iv witnessed one 6 year old have 4, yes 4 bars of chocolate in her packed lunch, I support the schools healthy eating policy because its better for our children,

however exclusion for 4 days is rediculious, I too like mini chedders

Many people ignore the law that bans the use of mobile phones when they are driving because it doesn't suit them to obey it so why would anybody take notice of that one.

Didn't it cause inconvenience when people didn't pay the poll tax too?

its time the school did what its there for to teach the children
nothing to do with them what a child eats
unless its a obvious health and safety issue or neglect

My kids would have been banned full time if they did that when they were at school :-D

We lived in a pub so mini cheddars were quite a normal thing to add along with crisps...as we had those behind the bar

Wonder if pork scratchings and peperami's are banned.....at least they ate something

Jax - is that something nourishing your avatar has in his hand?