‘Heavy-handed’ school food rule criticised

Parents clash with schools

A YORKSHIRE school has been branded “heavy-handed” with its approach to healthy eating amid complaints about pupils’ packed lunches being inspected and unhealthy snacks bagged up and handed back to parents.

A fed-up mother-of-four, whose children attend Westgate Primary in Otley, says she is considering a petition urging the school to review its strict packed lunch policy, which was brought in last September. Although she believes in promoting healthy eating and being proactive, she argues that the school should offer guidance on diet in a way that doesn’t “undermine” parents.

The mother, who would not be named, said: “The teaching assistants take at least half an hour inspecting children’s packed lunches.

“Kids as young as eight are being given the responsibility to ‘advise’ and tell on their friends if they have inappropriate items in their lunch.”

The school uses a traffic light system, featuring foods listed in red, amber and green categories.

Helen Carpenter, the school’s headteacher, defended her policies, saying: “Encouraging healthy eating amongst our pupils is really important to us here at Westgate Primary School, therefore we have adopted a packed lunch policy, like many other schools, with a view to ensuring our pupils have a healthy, balanced and nutritious lunch.”

She added: “We only remove items with high fat or sugar content and replace with a healthy alternative.

“The majority of parents are very supportive of this policy.”

PARENTS AND schools have once again clashed over the issue of healthy eating. It started last week when a Bradford primary school’s decision to ban sausage rolls and other foods deemed unhealthy from pupils’ lunchboxes sparked an angry reaction from parents.

Now a primary school in Otley has been accused of being “heavy-handed” amid claims that packed lunches are routinely inspected with unhealthy snacks taken out and handed back to parents.

There have been similar protests in the past. In 2006 a group of parents found themselves in the spotlight when they started taking lunchtime fast food orders to pupils at a school near Rotherham.

It was seen as a backlash against TV chef Jamie Oliver’s healthy school dinners campaign, with pictures of burgers and chips being stuffed through school railings making headline news.

However, there is a serious underlying issue behind all this, which is how do we get our children to eat less junk food in the face of a rising tide of child obesity?

The government sets national healthy eating standards for most schools in the country, which includes bans on crisps and sweets, and while some people complain about an interfering nanny state the fact is that parents must take some responsibility for ensuring their children eat healthy food.

We need to address this issue as a matter of urgency, but if it is to succeed then it will require the support of all concerned – the government, schools and parents. Only by working together can we hope to tackle this child obesity timebomb and ensure that future generations lead healthier lives.