Recent research revealed the number of people with a food allergy has more than doubled between 2008 and 2018. The free educational resources include films, lesson plans and first aid advice for teachers and educators to empower and raise awareness of food allergies among young people.
Aimed at children aged three to 11-years-old Allergy School stars a puppet named Arlo, an armadillo who is allergic to milk, eggs and sesame. The programme aims to make food education fun and engaging while destigmatising food allergies in the classroom.
Natasha’s Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity, was co-founded by Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse following the death of their daughter Natasha aged 15. The charity was the driving force behind the introduction of Natasha’s Law, which requires food businesses to label pre-packaged foods with full ingredient lists.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE said: “It can be really hard to keep a child with food allergies safe in school. Finding a nursery where Natasha would be safe was extremely difficult. Natasha at times was bullied at school because of her food allergies and this was incredibly stressful and isolating for both her and our family.
“Government, schools, teachers, parents and pupils need to come together to support children with food allergies in this country. Our new Allergy School will transform levels of awareness and understanding of food allergies to ensure all children are safe and able to participate fully at school.”
Chartwells is working with the food allergy charity to promote Allergy School and encourage implementation across almost 1,300 partner primary and preparatory schools across the UK.
The school catering company has 11 medical diet nutritionists who are responsible for auditing, compliance checks, training and development of bespoke menus. Chartwells serves over 6,500 medical diet meals a week across the UK, catering to the 14 EU allergens as well as lentils, tomatoes and pea protein.
Every year Chartwells also educates over 100,000 children on nutrition, allergies and sustainability through their Beyond the Chartwells Kitchen programme, utilising its Spotlight Session digital learning resources.
Meg Hughes, director of nutrition and sustainability at Chartwells, added: ”We’re passionate about making sure every pupil has access to delicious, nutritious food to fuel their learning. We already have robust policies in place to support children with allergies within our partner schools, but early education is key to building understanding, reducing stigma, and saving lives.
“This belief is at the heart of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation’s mission, so we’re proud to be working with them to support the launch of Allergy School. This is such a fantastic, accessible resource for teaching children the importance of allergies and normalising medical diets, ensuring every child feels safe, included, and empowered."
Allergy School’s resources can be downloaded for free at: www.allergyschool.org.uk.