Pupil excluded from primary school for flouting healthy eating policy

[Northerner]

A six-year-old boy has been excluded from his primary school for four days amid a stand-off between his parents and the school authorities over its healthy eating policy.

Riley Pearson's parents were called to a meeting at Colnbrook Church of England primary school after a bag of Mini Cheddars, an oven-baked snack, was discovered in his packed lunch following the introduction of the new policy which stipulated that packed lunches should be a "healthy and balanced meal".

The child's parents, Nicola Mardle and Tom Pearson, were told in a letter that he was being excluded for four days, while a permanent exclusion was considered. It said that a continued lack of parental support for school policy had "led to Riley being put in a situation where he is continuously breaking school rules regarding healthy eating".

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/31/pupil-excluded-school-healthy-eating

Utterly ridiculous! And a permanent exclusion being considered? Madness!

 

[Copepod]

Without knowing how policy was notified to parents, over what timescale, and what parent / school communication / co-operation is like, I wouldn't want to comment. I guess there may be a lot that hasn't been included in this story.

 

[Mark T]

It would be interesting to understand what the school considers a "Healthy and Balanced" meal.

My primary school has similar rules, but it's very difficult for them to take the moral high ground as the school dinners are hardly healthy and balanced 😉

Although what typically seems to happen is anything forbidden gets taken away and then returned at the end of the day. We haven't had that happen to us yet.

 

[Northerner]

Outrage after student lunches thrown out at Utah school

School officials in the US state of Utah have apologised after an employee confiscated and discarded the lunches of about 30 children whose parents were said to be in arrears on meal payments.

Outraged parents in Salt Lake City said the students at Uintah Elementary primary school had been humiliated.

The school system has launched an inquiry into the Tuesday incident, blamed on a sole "nutrition manager".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25972953

Seems they like to take it out on the children everywhere

 

[Mark T]

....confiscated and discarded the lunches of about 30 children ....

If someone was silly enough to do that in the UK, they would soon get a friendly tap on the shoulder from the local community police officer!

Taking without permission and not returning is theft in this country at least.