Student pulled out over shared food

A mother has taken her son out of class, citing confusion on what rules schools should be following to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The parent, whose son is in year 9 at Ka¯piti College, said he came home with instructions not to bring lunch, as they would cook it in pairs at school.

The Ministry of Education defended a school’s right to have children cook food together, stating it was safe provided ‘‘necessary hygiene’’ was observed.

However, the mother told Stuff she did not feel comfortable that the children were working in pairs, and sharing the food.

With an elderly family member in their bubble, and an overlapping bubble with someone with an immunocompromised family member, sharing food was not sensible. The student’s parents were essential workers, which meant unless their son went to school, he would be left home alone.

There were only six students in attendance at the college, many those of essential workers who have contact in the community on a daily basis.

‘‘I didn’t think he’d be sitting opposite someone at an actual desk,’’ she said. ‘‘Six kids in a classroom, do you need to do that?’’

She rang principal Tony

Kane on Monday morning and, when he confirmed what her son had told her, she instructed him to send him home.

Kane said five hours of isolated learning ‘‘could feel like a day-long detention and punishment for their parents needing to work’’. Cooking offered a break from that.

He understood the family’s bubble had changed to include others more at risk.

‘‘Had she spoken to me, we could have worked out what further precautions she would like . . .

‘‘There is reasonable social distancing, kids are hand cleaning, they are doing different parts of the cooking and, therefore, using different utensils.

‘‘I am struggling to see how this is any different to McDonald’s or the local Thai takeaway that most of us flooded to over the last week.’’

But the concerned parent said social distancing in the cooking room wasn’t enough, because the pairs were still sharing food, thus breaking the bubble.

Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey said the ministry had been in touch with the principal and was confident the school was following the appropriate health and safety guidelines.

‘‘There is no reason for the school not to teach cooking, as long as – as in this case – all the appropriate health and safety measures are being taken, and the students are well supervised.’’

However, the ministry had advised all schools earlier in writing to ‘‘provide reminders about the importance of not sharing food or drinks’’.

The concerned mum said she thought sharing food was an unnecessary risk. ‘‘Why would you add another element in that means much more cross-contamination?’’