Information and guidance relating to the provision of nuts in schools.
The provision of nuts in schools
The Government’s school food standards aim to improve the diversity and nutrient content of the food provided for children in school. The food-based standards ban the provision of snacks such as crisps, and state that the only snacks provided in school should be nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables with no added salt, fat*, sugar or honey.
*Except that dried fruit may contain up to 0.5% vegetable oil as a glazing agent
Nuts and seeds provide a healthy alternative to crisps, chocolate and sweets, which can no longer be provided in schools. Nuts and seeds are good sources of energy, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals and essential fatty acids; key components of a healthy balanced diet.
Allergies
A food allergy is a reproducible adverse reaction to a particular food which involves the immune system. Reactions can range from relatively mild, such as skin irritation, through to the most severe form of reaction that may cause anaphylaxis.
Approximately 5-8% of children have a food allergy (FSA 2006). 14 of the most common food allergens have to be listed on packaging where included in pre-packaged foods. These are: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, molluscs, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, lupin and sulphur dioxide and sulphites. Further information is available from the Food Standards Agency website here:
www.food.gov.uk/safereating/allergyintol/label
It is important that pupils learn how to avoid food they are allergic to, and manage situations where they may be at risk of contact with their allergen, (e.g. by bringing their own food to picnics or parties), for the rest of their lives. Primary school aged pupils are generally more protected as their parents can control their diet eliminating their allergen, but secondary school pupils take more responsibility for managing their condition as they come into contact with more foods independently of their parents.
Managing nut allergies
Most allergy sufferers are aware of their allergy, recognise their symptoms and have medication (e.g. EpiPen or antihistamines), available at school, or carried with them, to manage the unlikely event that they might accidentally come in contact with or ingest a food they are allergic to. Schools should have individual health care plans in place for managing the care of pupils with severe allergies, as with pupils with other medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes.
Whole school nut bans
Individual schools, or local authorities, may choose to remove nuts from their menus and have policies preventing nuts from being brought onto the school premises, if they feel that this is in the interest of their school community. This approach is common in primary schools, where they are less likely to have vending machines in place. Young pupils may not be mature enough to be responsible for managing their condition by avoiding allergens, and so by limiting their availability at school, this may reduce the number of allergy related incidents. Schools may feel that by prohibiting nuts on site, the school would be a nut-free environment, and so reduce the risk of any allergic reactions. However, this approach may induce a false sense of security for those pupils with a nut allergy, and does not teach pupils avoidance strategies for outside of school where they may come in contact with nuts. Also, from the school’s perspective, there is no absolute guarantee that a nut ban will ensure there are no nuts on the school premises.
Whole school awareness and education to manage risk of allergic reactions from nuts
Nut bans may not always be the most appropriate approach. An alternative solution is to create an awareness across the whole school how to manage the risk of allergic reactions from nuts. The Health Education Trust have published a toolkit “Best Practice Guidance on reducing the risk of an allergic reaction from snacking in Secondary School via vending” detailing their alternative approach to managing nuts in schools:
www.healthedtrust.com/pdf/HET-allergy-toolkit.pdf
The approach set out in the HET best practice guidance encourages pupils with allergies to learn to be vigilant, and practice avoidance strategies, thus gaining invaluable life skills. The majority of the school community without allergies can continue to benefit from consuming nuts, and from learning about allergies which may be useful for their lives in the future.
Points to consider if providing nuts in a secondary school
Where secondary schools wish to provide nuts, and ensure the school community has an awareness of the issues related to food allergies, the following points taken from the HET best practice guidance are useful to consider:
- Suitable training and awareness for the whole school community including pupils, teachers, cleaners and caterers, about nut allergies and how to manage the risks.
- Repeat training on allergy awareness and correct hand washing techniques with every Year 7 intake and at new staff inductions.
- Nuts could be provided via allergy-aware vending (as this is a more controlled environment) and not by adding nuts to the school lunch menu provided by the canteen.
- Consider how nuts are available – provision via a separate and well labelled vending machine with an associated rubbish bin to dispose of any packaging, enables pupils to easily identify snacks containing nuts
- Guidance and posters reminding pupils to wash their hands with soap before and after eating snacks and meals
- Ensure that soap dispensers are always topped up and surfaces are cleaned thoroughly to avoid any traces of allergens.
- School rules should include the importance of disposing of litter in rubbish bins, so that packaging with potential allergens is contained within a regularly emptied bin.
- Ensure that personalised health care plans are in place for pupils who have allergies, so the school has procedures in place in case of any allergic reaction.
An example of a health care plan can be found on the Anaphylaxis Campaign website:
www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
For more information
More information about managing nut allergies and safely providing nuts in schools is available from the Anaphylaxis Campaign and Health Education Trust’s websites:
The Health Education Trust has developed a best practice guidance tool for ‘allergy aware’ vending in secondary schools. This toolkit can be downloaded from their website:
www.healthedtrust.com/pdf/HET-allergy-toolkit.pdf
The Health Education Trust has produced a policy guide on ‘Managing Medicines in Schools’ which covers the issues surrounding pupils with food allergies along with asthma, epilepsy and diabetes, and is available as a free download. Chapter 5 covering individual healthcare plans and Chapter 7 covering anaphylaxis in schools may be of particular relevance.
www.healthedtrust.com/pages/medicine.html
The Anaphylaxis Campaign website provides a list of possible triggers, top tips on how to conduct a risk assessment and setting up a protocol to manage nut allergies in schools, including sample documents in the information section of their website:
www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
Food allergy in children and young people (NICE)
In February 2011, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance for health professionals in the NHS and community settings, relating to the assessment and diagnosis of food allergy in children and young people up to 19 years of age. The guidelines (titled “Food allergy in children and young people”) and a summary produced for children and their parents/carers is available from:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG116
