PROTOCOL OF ALLERGIES AND FOOD INTOLERANCES 

 JUSTIFICATION OF FOOD ALLERGIES AND INTOLERANCES AND CELIAC ILLNESS

Following the approval by the Government of the Balearic Islands of Decree 39/2019 of 17 May, this school has updated its protocol for the care of students with food allergies or intolerances, coeliac illness and who use the school canteen. See full protocol below.

All food allergies or intolerances and coeliac illness must be PROVIDED to the school in the form provided for in the above-mentioned regulation: official medical certificate/report.

Therefore, before the start of the school year, parents or guardians of pupils with food allergies or intolerances or coeliac illness must submit the following documentation to the school's general secretary's office between 2 and 6 September (it should not be submitted if it has already been submitted in previous years, unless there has been a change of diagnosis or treatment):

1.- MEDICAL CERTIFICATE/REPORT issued in the name of the pupil, detailing the following:       

• Food allergies. The more detailed the better, including indications as to the consumption of trace foods.

• Food intolerances. The more detailed the better, including indications as to the consumption of trace foods.

• Coeliac illness. The more detailed the better.

• Latex allergy (knowledge required in case of medical assistance)

• Symptomatology or reactions that the pupil may present in case of ingestion of food to which he/she is allergic or intolerant and other episodes of allergic reaction.

• Complete protocol to be followed by the centre in the event of an allergic reaction indicating:

  • Medicines to be administered and how (medication regimens), as well as storage measures.

  • Whether the use of adrenaline is necessary in case of allergic reaction, administration guidelines and storage measures.

  • Telephone numbers of health specialists to contact.

  • Other information that the doctor considers of interest.

In order to avoid misunderstandings, such medical certificates/reports must be TYPED (typewritten or computerised).

Medical certificates/reports must identify the issuing professional by full name and qualification, and must be stamped and signed on all pages.

Only allergies, intolerances and coeliac conditions documented in the indicated form will be taken into account. Notes in the school diary, emails or documents other than certificates or medical reports that do not meet the above conditions will not be accepted.

2.- AUTHORISATION, duly signed by both parents/guardians, in accordance with the downloadable form (see below), whereby in the event of a crisis they authorise or not authorise the staff of the centre (supply of medication or adrenaline injections) to treat their child before the appropriate medical service arrives, with exoneration of the centre and/or person attending to their child in the event of problems arising from this intervention.

In the absence of such authorisation, the school will not give medication or injections to pupils and will wait for medical assistance.

In this document, parents/guardians must indicate the contact telephone numbers of the people to be notified by the school in the event of any incident.

Descargar HOJA DE ENTREGA DE INFORME MÉDICO Y AUTORIZACIÓN Download MEDICAL REPORT SUBMISSION AND AUTHORISATION SHEET

UPDATE OF INFORMATION

For the effectiveness of the care protocol, in addition to that of the centre, the complete involvement of parents and guardians in keeping the information they provide us with up to date is necessary, so that any variation in allergies, intolerances or coeliac disease suffered by their child, medication or action protocol to be followed must be duly communicated to the centre and documented by means of a new typed medical certificate or report with the same requirements specified above, which must again be delivered to the general secretary's office of the centre.

Unless the information is updated, the last information provided by the parents/guardians will be understood to be valid with changes in the school year. In the event of variations, they must be documented in the manner explained in the previous paragraph.

SUPPLY OF MEDICINES AND INJECTABLES

It is the responsibility of the pupils' parents/guardians to supply the school, through their child's guardian, with the medicines or injectables to be given in the event of a reaction related to allergy, intolerance or coeliac condition.

• One unit of each medicine should be given in in the Nursery and Infant school. 

• In Primary and Secondary school, two units of each medicine or injectables should be handed out: one to be placed in the dining room and one for the class (to be taken on school trips).

• In Baccalaureate they must hand in one unit of each medicine, with the exception of those who use the dining room service, who must bring 2 units.

These medicines must be duly labelled with the child's full name and must be renewed in the event of expiry, which is the responsibility of the parents or guardians. The centre will check the expiry date only in the event that it is necessary to supply the medicine, and will refrain from doing so if the medicine is out of date.

DIABETES MENU

Pupils with diabetic pathology who use the school dining room service must present an adapted menu according to their own requirements to the school nurse. Carbohydrate rations may be weighed daily by the kitchen staff under the supervision of the school nurse.

Vegetarian menu / Vegetarians / Special menus

Vegetarians, vegans or those who never eat red meat/pork should submit their menu request to the nurse at the beginning of the course. 

Throughout the entire course, without exception, students will only receive this menu. 

In all cases the request for these menus must be handed in to the school nurse and must be signed by both parents.

Descargar SOLICITUD MENÚ ESPECIAL

MENU OF MEALS

This does not affect what is known as the special diet menu, which will continue to be served as before.

OCCASIONAL USERS

In the case of occasional users of the canteen service, given the impossibility of offering the service with all the necessary guarantees, the centre will not offer special menus to pupils with food allergies and intolerances or coeliac disease.

PROTOCOL FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND CARE OF FOOD ALLERGIES, INTOLERANCES AND SPECIAL DIETARY CONDITIONS OF PUPILS AT THE SCHOOL

This document specifies the management and control of food allergies and intolerances based on the following points:

1.- Only allergies, intolerances and coeliac conditions documented in the manner indicated in this protocol will be dealt with. Notes in the school diary, emails or documents other than certificates or medical reports that do not meet the conditions set out below will not be accepted.

2.- Parents/guardians of pupils at the school who suffer from food allergies or intolerances, for which an appointment must be made through the channel provided for this purpose, must submit the following documentation and medication to the school's nursing service, within the period indicated by the school each year, the following documentation and medication:

1. a) MEDICAL CERTIFICATE/REPORT issued in the name of the pupil, giving details:

− Food allergies. The more detailed the better, including indications as to the consumption of trace foods.

− Food intolerances. The more detailed the better, including indications as to the consumption of trace foods.

− Coeliac illness. The more detailed the better.

− Latex allergy (knowledge required in case of medical assistance)

−Symptomatology or reactions that the pupil may present in case of ingestion of food to which he/she is allergic or intolerant and other episodes of allergic reaction.

− Complete protocol of action to be followed by the centre in case of an allergic reaction indicating:

• • ● Medicines to be administered and how (medication regimens), as well as storage measures for medicines.

  • If the use of adrenaline is necessary in case of allergic reaction, administration guidelines and storage measures.

  • ● Telephone numbers of health specialists to contact.

  • ● Other information that the doctor considers relevant.

In order to avoid misunderstandings, such medical certificates/reports must be TYPED (typewriter or computer).

Medical certificates/reports must identify the issuing professional by full name and qualification, and must be stamped and signed on all pages.

1.  b) AUTHORISATION, duly signed by both parents/guardian, according to modelo descargable 

from the centre's website, whereby in the event of a crisis you authorise or not authorise centre staff (supply of medication or adrenaline injections) to treat your child before the appropriate medical service arrives, with exoneration of the centre and/or person caring for your child in the event of problems arising from such intervention.

This authorisation will include information on whether the pupil has been discharged from the ALERTA ESCOLAR BALEAR programme. This information is very important, as the medical history of children discharged from the programme is entered into a database to which the 061 emergency service has access.

c) MEDICATION: Two units of medication or injectables to be given to the pupil in the event of a reaction related to allergy, intolerance or coeliac condition must be provided together with the medical documentation. In the Nursery and Infant School it will be sufficient to deliver one unit of each medicine. These medicines must be duly labelled with the child's full name and must be renewed in the event of expiry, which is the responsibility of the parents or guardians. The centre will check the expiry date only in the event that it is necessary to provide the medicine, refraining from doing so in the event that it is out of date.

3.- The health staff in charge of the school's infirmary will enter the information received into the Alexia application and, using the same application, will draw up the pupils' FICHES in accordance with the model established by the school. In order for each tutor to be aware of having pupils with food allergies or intolerances under their responsibility, they will be given a copy of the corresponding files, which must be kept in a desk drawer with a locking mechanism.

At least the following data shall be included in the student's file:

• ● Full name

• ● Course

• ● Photo

• Whether or not they are registered in the ALERTA ESCOLAR BALEAR programme.

• Whether or not the family has authorised the administration of medication.

• Allergies/intolerances that the pupil has.

• Level 

• ● Possible symptoms that may occur.

• Protocol to follow in case of an incident.

• ● Prescribed medicine

• ● Location of medication.

• ● Telephone numbers of Sanitary specialists

• ● Telephone numbers of family members

• ● Date of file

• ● Date of medical report

• ● If you are a school canteen pupil or not.

4.-Custody of documents

The original of the documentation contained in the second point of this protocol shall be kept in the school infirmary, stored in folders and arranged by school year, with one folder per pupil, in order to add future documents that may be provided by parents and guardians.

5.- Access to student files

A printed copy of the records, kept in folders and arranged by school year will be kept in the school's own infirmary.

A printed copy of the records, kept in folders and arranged by school year, will be kept in the place where the pupils eat, which varies depending on the year or school stage, within reach and at the disposal of the teachers and monitors responsible for the care of the pupils during mealtimes.

Thus:

• School pupils: they will be kept in their dining room.

• Infant school pupils: they will be kept in their dining room.

• Primary, Secondary and Baccalaureate students: they will be kept in the general dining room.

A list and their dietary status will also be given to the company responsible for the dining room service.

A set of records shall also be available in each of the cupboards or pigeon holes where the second units of medication are kept, which shall be located in the respective staff rooms.

Tutors shall also have access to their respective students' records in the manner indicated in point 3 of this protocol.

In all the locations detailed above, the furniture where the folders are stored shall have locking mechanisms to prevent unauthorised access to the documentation. However, during meal times, the furniture in the canteens shall remain open so as not to hinder access to the documentation in the event that it is necessary to do so. If these mechanisms are not available, alternative measures will be adopted (posting signs restricting access to authorised personnel and placing the furniture in an area that is not accessible to students).

6.- Location of medicines and injectables

In order to facilitate their rapid administration in the event of an incident:

1- One unit of the medicines or injectables given by each pupil will be kept in the same locations detailed for the pupil records, stored in the same furniture where they are kept in the dining room areas of each educational stage.

2- The second unit shall be used when leaving the centre that involves the consumption of food or drink supplied by the centre or third parties and shall be kept in the locations determined by the centre.

7.- Identification of pupils who eat in the school canteens and who have food allergies and/or intolerances:

• Nursery: control by the teacher himself/herself.

• Junior: identification by means of a card attached to the table where the pupil eats.

• Primary: direct identification by staff responsible for allergies and intolerances.

• Other classes: direct identification by staff responsible for allergies and intolerances.

8.- Location and care of pupils in the school canteen

During meal times, the nurse in charge of the school infirmary will remain in the school dining room in order to facilitate the rapid attention of pupils in the event of a food incident and to control the food served to them.

All pupils with special dietary conditions will be escorted from the entrance door to the kitchen, where they will be served a meal under the supervision of the assigned monitor or the school's nursing staff.

For the purpose of better control and attention, pupils from 1st to 4th Primary with food allergies will eat at tables specially reserved for them, attended by the monitors or teachers determined by the school, as well as by the school nurse. Preferably, the same monitors will be assigned to supervise these pupils. In the event that a substitution is necessary, it will be ensured that the substitute is always the same person.

Exceptionally, from 2nd Primary onwards, pupils allergic only to NUTS may not require the separation measure in the school dining room, when the daily menu does not contain their allergen. The reason for this measure is that the dining room menu has NO NUTS, except for 2 days a month when the dessert is ice cream. This measure will require prior parental consent and daily authorisation from the nurse. The student will lose this benefit if he/she does not comply with the above requirements.

Pupils with food intolerances and coeliac disease do not require any separation measures in the school dining room. Only measures to avoid food to which they are intolerant should be taken into account.

Vegetarian, vegan pupils, or those who never eat red meat/pork, do not require any separation measures in the school dining room, only the avoidance measures for the foods referred to should be taken into account as appropriate.

9.- Placement of pupils in nursery and junior school.

Pupils at these school stages will eat in their own dining room, one in Escoleta and one in Infantil, supervised by their teachers.

During meal times, the school's medical staff in charge of the school infirmary will remain in the school dining room in order to facilitate the prompt attention of the pupils in the event of a food incident.

10.- Control of the food served to each child.

1. a) In the general canteen (primary and secondary education):

The nursing staff responsible for the centre will be on the school canteen premises throughout the daily meal service, in order to personally attend to each of the pupils with allergies and intolerances. They will wait for the pupils at the entrance to the canteen and accompany them personally to the kitchen area set up for the specific service of their meals. The head chef is responsible for serving the meals and checking them together with the nurse before handing them over to the pupil. Finally, the nurse will accompany the student from the kitchen area to the dining area designated for meals. If the student wishes to repeat a dish, the process described in the previous paragraph must be repeated.

The caterer will post a daily allergen sheet at the entrance to the dining room, stating the allergens present on the menu. This sheet reflects any changes that the menu may have undergone due to causes external to the catering.

A photograph of the allergen sheet will be sent daily to the school nurse in charge of the school each morning to facilitate allergen control.

In the general canteen, there will be a sign in front of each meal tray specifying the allergens contained in each specific dish.

On a daily basis, the school nurse will notify the catering service of any changes to the original list of pupils with food intolerances or allergies.

1. b) In the Nursery and Junior school canteen:

In the Nursery and Junior school classrooms, teachers will request the different units of menus (ordinary and special) to be served to pupils each day from the kitchen.

The meal service for junior and nursery school pupils is carried out in canteens that are separate from the kitchen facilities. Therefore, the meals will be taken by the kitchen manager, in a hot line, to their respective dining rooms. 

Specific menus for pupils with allergies and intolerances will be prepared exclusively by the catering manager and stored in properly identified sealed containers before being delivered by the kitchen manager to the catering manager in each of the canteens.

The caterer will draw up a daily allergen sheet stating the allergens present on the menu. This sheet reflects any changes that the menu may have undergone due to causes external to the catering company.

The daily allergen sheet will be sent each day to the nursing staff in charge of the centre and to the stage managers.

The kitchen manager for nursery and junior schools will check daily, together with the head chef, all menus once they have been stored and labelled and fill in a record of compliance, before the meals are transferred to the canteens and delivered to the specific teaching staff responsible for their service.

Allergen-trained stage staff will be responsible for serving meals to pupils with allergies and intolerances.

The school nurse responsible for the school will notify the catering service on a daily basis of any changes to the original list of pupils with food intolerances or allergies.

On an annual basis for all canteens in the centre:

• Before the start of the school year, the school's nursing staff will provide a list of all pupils with food intolerances or allergies to the catering service.

• On the basis of the list provided by the school nurses, the caterer together with a qualified nutritionist will design the menus for the next school year. 

• A general menu will be designed, where all the allergens present in each of the meals will be declared, and a specific menu for each of the allergens.

• Lunchtime menus:

General and specific menus will be submitted to the school, for information to be passed on to school staff and families via the school website.

The caterer, together with the school nurse, will review the menus.

This review is established in order to avoid any contamination of the food in cases of food intolerances or allergies to the pupils concerned at the time of entry, service and mealtimes in the school canteen. The guidelines are mandatory for kitchen staff and those responsible for monitoring pupils during mealtimes.

• Afternoon snack:

Up to 6th Primary, snacks are provided to the classrooms by the kitchen staff. Snacks for pupils with allergies and/or intolerances are wrapped separately in a box with a lid and label.

School lunch (1 and 2 years): In the morning snack, the school serves fruit, except for pupils with allergies or intolerances to fruit, in which case an alternative option is provided.

• Picnics:

The teachers will pass the list to the kitchen, which will prepare the special picnics and wrap them individually and separately. They will be collected by the pupils accompanied by each of the tutors.

11.- Incidents

In the event of an allergy/intolerance, a protocol must be put in place to deal with it, as detailed in each student's file.

The person in charge of activating and following the care protocol, including the administration of medication or injections if necessary, will be the health staff in charge of the school infirmary, always with the collaboration of the monitors assigned to the supervision and care of these pupils, and of the Nursery and Junior school teachers in their respective dining rooms. 

In the event of the occasional absence of the medical staff in charge of the infirmary, the specific teachers on duty in the canteen will be responsible for activating and following the protocol.

12.- Absences from the centre that may involve the consumption of food or drink.

The teachers accompanying the pupils on the outing must carry with them an up-to-date copy of the pupil's record and the medicines or injectables to be administered in the event of an incident, in accordance with the protocol set out in the pupil's record.

Those responsible for the supply of medicines and injectables will in this case be the teachers present on the outing.

At the end of the activity, the infirmary must be informed of the use or non-use of the medicines and injectables, and any unused medicines and injectables must be returned to their place. If they have been used, the school infirmary will ask the parents/guardians to replace them.

Note: this protocol applies not only to one-day visits, but also to those trips organised by the centre, such as long trips or outings.

13.- Retreats and summer schools

In the retreats and summer schools organised by the school, the food service is provided by the same company that runs the canteen service during the school year, so the same protocols will be applied, including the presence of health personnel at meal times and with the same functions, except in the summer camps and activities outside the school.

In the event that the activity takes place outside the school, such as at the Esporles facilities, the tutor must take a copy of the pupils' records and a unit of the medicines or injectables to be administered.

If children who are not pupils at the school are allowed to take part in these activities, they must provide with their registration all the documentation described in the first section of this protocol, as well as two units of the medicines and injectables to be administered in case of need. 

Registration and participation in the activities will not be accepted for those who suffer from food allergies or intolerances and who have not presented the required documentation and provided the medicines or injectables to be administered.

14.- Updating of medical information and student records

In order for the care protocol to be effective, in addition to that of the centre, parents and guardians must be fully involved in keeping the information supplied to the centre up to date, so that any variation in allergies, intolerances or coeliac disease suffered by pupils, medication or action protocol to be followed must be duly communicated to the centre and documented by means of a new typed medical certificate or report with the same requirements as specified above, which must again be handed in at the centre's infirmary.

Unless the information is updated, the last information provided by the parents/guardians will be understood to be valid with changes in the school year.

In the event of variations during the summer holidays, they must be documented in the manner explained in the previous paragraph within the first fortnight of September each year.

Parents/guardians of pupils shall be reminded of this before the end of each school year.

In the case of allergies or intolerances occurring at the beginning of the school year, these must be documented in the same way as described in this protocol.

Any modification in the information provided will be recorded in Alexia and will imply the updating of the pupil's file, and outdated copies of the file must be replaced by fully updated ones in all locations. The out-of-date file will not be deleted, but will be filed in the folder opened in the name of the corresponding pupil where the original documentation provided by the parents/guardians is kept.

15.- Replenishment of medicines and control of their expiry date.

It is the responsibility of the pupils' parents/guardians to check the expiry date of medicines and injectables delivered to the school. The school, through the health staff in charge of the infirmary, will check the expiry date only when it is necessary to administer the medicine, refraining from doing so in the event that it is out of date, notifying parents/guardians of the need to replace it. Pupils may not use the school canteen services until expired medication or injections have been replaced.

The use of medication or injectables implies the need for a refill, which is the responsibility of the parents/guardians. The school will inform the parents/guardians of the use of medication or injections and will require a refill. The pupil will not be able to use the school canteen services until the medicines or injectables used have been replaced.

16.- New students

In the enrolment process, the information provided by the school will include information regarding the existence of this protocol and the need to inform the school if the pupil has any food allergy/intolerance or coeliac disease.

If this is the case, those responsible for the child will be informed that, together with the documentation required for the pupil's enrolment, they must present the same documentation (and medication) listed in the first point of this protocol.

The enrolment form will include a specific question in this respect, and those responsible for the child must expressly state whether or not the child has these pathologies.

17.- Students leaving from the canteen service or leaving the centre

When a student leaves the canteen service or leaves the centre:

- This must be communicated by the centre to the nursing service.

- The nursing service will extract the student's file from the folders in which all the student's files are kept, both those kept in the infirmary and those kept in the dining rooms and kitchen and by the tutors.

- The nursing service will remove the pupil's folder where all the medical documentation provided for the treatment of their allergy or intolerance has been kept and transfer it IN A CLOSED ENVELOPE to the pupil's administrative file, where it will remain in accordance with the conservation periods established by the centre.

In the event of re-registration in the canteen service or in the centre, parents/guardians must provide duly updated information and documentation related to the first point of this protocol, recovering the historical information stored in the administrative file.

18.- Alexia

Any incident, care, discharge, cancellation or modification of medical information, care protocol, expiry, replacement or change of medication must be duly recorded in Alexia (or the application that replaces it) in order to be able to justify the monitoring and actions carried out at all times.

19.- Review of how the protocol works

Annually, at the beginning of the last school month of the academic year, the protocol will be reviewed in accordance with the incidents that have occurred, adopting the appropriate changes, which will be made known to the parents/guardians of the pupils in due time so that in the event that any action should be taken on their part it can be carried out before the start of the new academic year.

20.- This document is permanently updated on this website.