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Easy Fall Leaves DIY Decor That Is Practically Free - Page 2 of 3

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Daily digest for Lucy's Friendly Foods, on September 1, 2025

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The Back to School Toolkit (with allergies)

By lucylox on August 31, 2025

Getting ready for back to school is a big thing, and an even bigger thing if you add allergies to the mix. There is so much to think about, so many aspects to feel anxious about. But fear not, a bit of pre-planning and extra steps and everything should be smooth and stress free.

September rolls around and everything inevitably points to back to school and the return of normality after the freedom of the summer holidays. We have come to the end of our schooling years, and i feel a little bit of sadness that we don't have back to school this year (although we will have start of/back to Uni for the foreseeable!).

There are lots of posts online about getting ready for school but these often focus on small children in their early years of education, there seems to be a lack of advice and support for the child who is a little older, the teen or the young adult. So i though i'd write some tips from our 20 years of experience and hopefully it may help someone who is feeling anxious about the school year starting.

Early Years - there is certainly an added fear factor when your child first starts school, and that's whether they have allergies or not. Will they be happy, is it the right school, what if they don't make friends, what if their teacher isn't what you'd hoped for? With food allergies, or other health concerns, there is the added worry that they may not be as safe as you keep them. Here are a few tips that helped us survive the early years (and this is in the scenario of a school that hadn't had to cope with our allergies before)

Communication - this is key. Speak to the school, start talking to their teachers, talk to Matron or the nursing staff, chat with the dinner staff. If you can develop a good relationship with your child's form teacher it will make everything from daily school life, to trips and matches much easier. I quickly learnt at nursery that not everyone truly understands allergies. Little S joined a supposedly nut-free nursery and as an anxious mum i sat in on her settling in session, which was very lucky because they decided to get the children to feed the birds and opened a cupboard to get a giant sack of peanuts out! I was honestly so shocked i was speechless! Anyway, after the danger was brought to their attention, the peanuts were disposed of and never made a return.
Food - obviously this is the big concern. Do you trust the school lunches or do you go for a packed lunch? It really depends on the school and your impression. We were lucky that our schools offered an allergy friendly lunch and when the girls were little they really enjoyed being able to have similar to their friends. There were aspects they had to take extra care over, such as cheese contamination on the salad bar or occasionally being offered the wrong thing - but it was also a good life lesson for them to be vigilant and we never had any issues. A packed lunch is more reassuring (and the girls moved to this in secondary school when they decided they didn't enjoy the allergy-safe offerings). There's also the concern over what other children bring in, if you don't live in a world of hyper vigilance over ingredients then it's really easy to overlook something. I'd recommend getting the school to send out regular reminders about allergies and what is allowed on the school site. I know there is some debate over nut-free schools, but we found it an extra reassurance.
Treat food - then there's the other food, the treats handed out at the end of term, the things brought in for birthdays etc. I know that, these days, people are less likely to take things in, but my way round it was to provide safe treats for the whole class every cake day, to over bake for cake sales and also be on duty to make sure there were no confusions. I also provided the teacher with a box of safe biscuits and treats, so that my daughters didn't have to miss out.
After school clubs - in my experience the info about allergies can get lost, so make sure you talk to the teachers who run any clubs too
Parties/playdates/other parents - again it's all about communication. You will come across people who get it, and people who don't. The ones who do with make your heart sing with photos of ingredients and extra precautions taken, then there will be the inevitable few who make no effort and act like you're being a bother. All i can suggest is try to not take it to heart and proudly be that annoying mum who asks all the questions and lingers at parties and playdates. I know that was me, and i definitely felt in the way at times, but at the end of the day the only important thing is keeping your child safe and yourself reassured.

Secondary School/Sixth Form - this is the stage when your child will want independence, when you will not be on hand or so welcome at occasions. It was a real eye opener to me when, having only experienced primary school when parents were (on the whole) fully engaged, a play date would suddenly be a child turning up on the doorstep and you'd never meet the parents! As a parent it seems scary, but it's all good lessons in allergy life and every little step to independence will make the next stages easier.

Little S's top tips for Secondary school

Have an allergy action plan and make sure it's up to date - make sure the school has a copy and both form teachers and Matron/nursing staff are aware of it. In my experience school will want an additional allergy kit to keep on site or take to external matches and trips, so make sure you have double of everything and it's all in date.
Have an allergy kit for the school bag. We have a small make up style wash bag containing epipens, antihistamine, inhalers, snacks and emergency phone contacts.
An extra snack or two in pockets or school bags/pencil cases is a good idea. We've relied on Dove's Farm bars, Lotus biscuits, mini chocolate bars etc. You never know when safe food will not be available and it's good to always have a back up
medical ID - Little S has a really pretty bracelet from Universal Medical ID which she likes wearing and always gets comments on how pretty it is. Also, crucially whenever she's had any interaction with medical staff it's the first thing they notice, so it helps her feel a little bit safer.
epipen training - it's a good idea to train your child to give epipen training to their friends, it gives them confidence but also highlights the importance to their friends.
school trips/excursions - i've always talked to the school and the trip provider, just to make sure they understand the situation and take extra care.

What do you do to help with back to school, what tips can you pass on? It all seems scary and overwhelming, but just a bit of preplanning and lots of open conversation will help make the school years as manageable as possible.

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