A school ban on sausage rolls and other “unhealthy” foods in pupils’ lunchboxes has divided opinion. The new policy at Shirley Manor Primary Academy in Bradford states parents will be called if banned foods are found in packed lunches.
Steve Fryer, whose son’s sausage roll was confiscated, said the school should “stick to teaching kids”. Others have praised the school for healthy eating, according to comments on the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
The policy says pupils are encouraged to show their packed lunches to staff before and after they have eaten. It states pork pies, sausage rolls and pepperoni sticks should not be included and neither should fruit squash or flavoured water.
It says this is because they are high in salt and saturated fat and the school is keen to promote a balanced diet. Mr Fryer said his son’s sausage roll was removed last Monday and given back to him at the end of the day.
“He was given a ham sandwich instead but he hates ham so there’s no way he was going to eat it. “He ended up eating a dry crisp sandwich. How is that any healthier?”
‘Furious’
He added: “It’s my job as a parent to decide what my child eats, not the school’s. “The school won’t even compromise and allow us to send sausage rolls once or twice a week. I’m furious.”
Head teacher Heather Lacey said the vast majority of parents supported the ban and there had been a big increase in the number of children bringing in healthy lunches. Although schools are legally required to provide meals that comply with the government’s School Food Standards, they are able to set their own policies on packed lunches.
