I'm guessing this wouldn't pass muster in Gloucester
They call Britain the Nanny State and for good reason. I’ve read about councils sticking secret bugs in dustbins to check the householders aren’t putting in waste that doesn’t belong there. I’ve read about councils spying on parents by following them in an unmarked car to check they really are living in the school catchment area they say they are living in. I’ve read about a school who banned a dad from watching his son’s sports day because he hadn’t been CRB checked but the latest one in Gloucestershire is jaw dropping.
Lunchtime supervisors in a primary school are taking children’s packed lunches out of the lunch box and photographing the contents. If the contents don’t fit their healthy criteria, they send the photograph to the parents, together with a letter with suggestions of what they should be packing, in an effort to ‘educate’ them. Now this takes the biscuit (ha!) it really does. For a start, if school lunches weren’t so disgusting, kids wouldn’t take a pack up in the first place. Second, what a parent gives to their child is their business. Sure, some parents may well be providing inadequate, high fat and salty food of which the snoopers might not approve but there are better ways to inform people and change their habits. Do you know what I’d do if my child went to that school? I’d stuff that box to the rim with greasy chips and burgers and a note that said ‘In your face’ when the nosy ‘nanas opened it. Besides, I’ve seen what some teachers have in their lunch boxes and believe me, they’re not all bouncing with bonny nutrients from Waitrose, either. We’re talking crisps. We’re talking chocolate. We’re talking sausage rolls. We’re talking tuna mayonnaise salad with enough mayo to block up the BP oil leak. Oh yes, admit it, Mrs Wotsit. You know it’s true. Furthermore while I’m up here on my high horse, the ‘recommended alternatives’ of cereal bars, fresh fruit and fruit drinks are not all that good for kids either. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Here’s a radical idea. Let pupils eat what they want so they don’t grow up obsessing about their weight but make sure they burn their lunch off by doing plenty of exercise. What? They can’t because you’ve sold the playing fields and stopped taking them swimming to save money? Oh, I see. Plenty of money for cameras though, eh?