We Are An Allergy Aware School
An allergy occurs when a person reacts to a substance that is usually considered harmless. It is an immune response and instead of ignoring the substance, the body produces histamine which triggers an allergic reaction. Whilst most allergic reactions are mild, causing minor symptoms, some can be very serious and cause anaphylaxis, which is a life-threatening medical emergency.
An allergen is a normally harmless substance that, for some, triggers an allergic reaction. You can be allergic to anything. The most common allergens are food, medication, animal dander (skin cells shed by animals with fur or feathers) and pollen. Latex and wasp and bee stings are less common allergens.
Most severe allergic reactions to food are caused by just 9 foods. These are eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts (which includes nuts such as hazelnut, cashew nut, pistachio, almond, walnut, pecan, Brazil nut, macadamia etc), sesame, fish, shellfish, soya and wheat.
There are 14 allergens required by law to be highlighted on pre-packed food. These allergens are celery, cereals containing: gluten, crustaceans, egg, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, tree nuts, soya, sulphites (or sulphur dioxide), and sesame.
At Lovelace School our Allergy Aware Officer is our Office Manager, Mrs Charlotte Sapsed.
Parents of Children with Allergies Parents/carers of children with allergies should:
- Work with the school to fill out an Individual Healthcare Plan and provide an accompanying Allergy Action Plan.
- If applicable, provide the school or their child with two labelled adrenaline pens and any other medication, for example antihistamine (with a dispenser, ie spoon or syringe), inhalers or creams.
- Ensure medication is in-date and replaced at the appropriate time.
- Update school with any changes to their child’s condition and ensure the relevant paperwork is updated too.
- Be aware that the school will have an up-to-date photograph of their child on the Individual Healthcare Plan so that it to be shared appropriately as part of their allergy management.
- Support their child to understand their allergy diagnosis and to advocate for themselves and to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of an allergic reaction occurring eg not eating the food they are allergic to.
- Be aware that if their child has a dietary allergy that they will wear a rainbow coloured lanyard at lunch service so that serving staff are aware and they already have meals plans prepared for them.
Bringing Food Into School
To keep our children safe we ask that:
- For whole class celebrations children will bring in their own food on a plate which is for them to consume only, we do not share food.
- If your child is celebrating their birthday you are welcome to bring in a book for the class book shelf or something such as stickers to share with the class. Please be aware that children are not permitted to bring in food items to share such as cake or sweets and parents are not able to share food items at the end of the day with classes.
Please read our Allergy Aware policy on our Policies page or by following this link: