Parents Annoyed By Domineering Lunch Box Advice

Ofsted has warned that many parents of both pupils in primary schools and high schools find schools to be bossy and interfering when they tell them what their children can and can't have in lunchboxes.

Parents have said they would rather have advice on preparing healthy lunches than constant interference and criticism of lunch boxes. Inspectors also reported that head felt uneasy about issuing edicts on packed lunches.

It has also been revealed that some families on a low income, but not low enough to be eligible for free school meals struggle to afford school dinners for their children. A high number of secondary schools also still use systems that make pupils who have free meals easily identifiable.

39 primary schools, high schools and special schools were visited between September 2009 and January 2010 to see how they were getting the healthy eating message across.

It was discovered that far more primary schools were complying with the standards than secondary schools. In primary schools it was often a piece of fruit that was missing from the children's lunch, while in secondary schools standards involving restricting meat products, deep fried foods and starchy foods cooked in oil were too readily on the menu.

The report said: "Some of the head teachers spoken to were reluctant to do this because they did not think that they should tell parents what to do and did not wish to be patronising.

"Where consultation with families had been poor or where information had not been worded sensitively, parents saw the school as being 'interfering' and 'bossy' and reacted against the advice.

"Many of the parents with whom inspectors held discussions said that, rather than being told what not to give their children, they wanted more guidance on how to prepare a healthy and balanced packed lunch."

Posted Wednesday June 30^th 2010
By The Onlines