Nut Aware Policy

Duck Street, Cerne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 7LA

‘The Small School with the Big Heart.’

Tel: 01300 341319     e-mail:office@cerneabbas.dorset.sch.uk         Website: www.cerneabbas.dorset.sch.uk

Nut Aware Policy

Our aims include creating a community based on trust, peace, friendship, joy, courage and fellowship, supporting children to be motivated and believe in themselves, celebrating everyone’s uniqueness and achievements, and to enable every child to be the best they can be. This policy was written with these aims in mind.

Cerne Abbas CE VC First School is food-allergy aware.  Our school is also peanut-aware. We aim to do all we can to minimise the risk to children with allergies, whilst appreciating that we cannot be completely confident that all food items brought in are peanut-free.

There are a significant number of pupils at our school who have food allergies. The most common of these allergens are peanuts, milk and some vegetables and fruits. The most serious risk in our school is nut allergies which can cause life threatening anaphylactic reactions. 

Aims of this policy

• To provide a safe learning environment for all members of our school community
•  To raise the awareness of all members of the community regarding severe allergies

Management

The Nut Aware policy will be managed by:

• Parents and carers  are requested NOT to send food to school that contains peanuts.
• Our Hot School Meal provider is already nut free and we do not supply any ingredients in food technology that have peanuts. 
• Staff supervising eating at lunchtime.
• Pupils being encouraged NOT to share food.
• Pupils being encouraged to wash hands before and after eating.
• Staff training in understanding and dealing with Anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions) as the need arises.

Promotion

The policy will be promoted by:

• A copy of this policy being issued to all parents and carers and kept on the school website
• Staff being informed and provided with training opportunities.
• Pupils being informed via teachers and support staff:

1. to be responsible when eating and handling food both inside and outside of school
2. helping pupils to understand that foods they  enjoy eating can be also be dangerous to others
3. encouraging pupils to support their classmates with allergies by eating and handling food responsibly

Risk Assessment regarding Nut Allergy

• Staff will be alert to any obvious signs of nuts being brought in, but they will not inspect all food brought into school.

• If staff do notice a pupil who has brought in food that contains peanuts, these items will be removed and if required an alternative will be supplied. 

• Bottles, other drinks and lunch boxes provided by parents for children with food allergies should be clearly labelled with the name of the child for whom they are intended.

• Where food is provided by the school, staff should be educated about how to read labels for food allergens and instructed about measures to prevent crosscontamination during the handling, preparation and serving of food. Examples include: preparing food for children with food allergies first; careful cleaning (using warm soapy water) of food preparation areas and utensils.
• Food should not be given to food-allergic children in primary schools without parental engagement and permission (e.g. birthday parties, food treats).
• Implement policies to avoid trading and sharing of food, food utensils or food containers.
• Unlabelled food poses a potentially greater risk of allergen exposure than packaged food with precautionary allergen labelling suggesting a risk of contamination with allergen.
• Use of food in crafts, cooking classes, science experiments and special events (e.g. fetes, assemblies, cultural events) need to be considered and may need to be restricted, depending on the allergies of particular children and their age.
• In arts/craft, an appropriate alternative ingredient can be substituted 
• A risk assessment will be undertaken when planning out-of-school activities such as sporting events, school outings or camps, think early about the catering requirements of the food-allergic child and emergency planning (including access to emergency medication and medical care).

Medication & Treatment

• All affected children have an Individual Health Care Plan containing details specific to that child and this policy is to be read in conjunction with Medical Policies.
• Antihistamine medication & 2 prescribed epipens per named child are held centrally in the office medical cabinet - this must not be locked and must be accessible to all staff.
• Medication is taken to the child not the child to the medication
• The spare epipen is only to be used in emergencies when the child’s prescribed medication is unusable and only if parental permission for use has been obtained. This will be recorded on Medical Alerts. 
• The spare epipen must NEVER be administered to a child without an existing prescription unless specifically instructed to do so by a healthcare professional
• Try to ensure that a person suffering an allergic reaction remains as still as possible, and does not get up or rush around. Bring the AAI to the pupil, not the other way round.
• When dialling 999, say that the person is suffering from anaphylaxis (“ANA-FIL-AX-IS”).
• Give clear and precise directions to the emergency operator, including the postcode of your location. (sign above phone in office)
• If the pupil’s condition does not improve 5 to 10 minutes after the initial injection you should administer a second dose. If this is done, make a second call to the emergency services to confirm that an ambulance has been dispatched.
• Send someone outside to direct the ambulance paramedics when they arrive.
• Arrange to phone parents/carer.
• Tell the paramedics:

  if the child is known to have an allergy;

what might have caused this reaction e.g. recent food

the time the AAI was given