School time

Advice for parents

Our Parents' Pack will answer most of your queries and includes information on liaising with your school team to best accommodate your child's needs. The Parents’ Pack is free of charge to Members – Join here, or you can buy 'Getting started - Gluten-free living for children' and 'Out and About - Gluten-free living for children'  from our online shop. 

Advice for school caterers

Catering for a child with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. doesn't necessarily mean preparing specific gluten-free food. Even small changes in practice can ensure the food cooked is safe - for example, cooking chips in separate oil.

Coeliac UK have produced a catering training module that can be found in the food business section of the website. Have a look at our section on catering training.

The Institute of Hospitality has also produced catering guidelines called 'Serving people with coeliac disease: Understanding gluten-free food service'.

These guidelines are available to Members of Coeliac UK, and can be downloaded from the 'publications' page on the Members log-in area of our website.

Copies are also available to Members of the Institute of Hospitality, or can be purchased by non-members - please see the Institute of Hospitality website for further details.

school dinners

Schools do not currently have to provide gluten-freemeals but most schools will be able to cater for your child. Some may need more information than others, so follow our tips for arranging school meals:

• Arange a meeting with the catering team.
• Discuss adjustments they could make to the normal weekly menu.
• Suggest alternative meals for those days where adjustments are not possible.
• Ensure that the catering team are aware of EU allergenSomething which causes an allergic reaction. labelling legislation which will enable them to identify whether a packaged food contains gluten or not.
• Provide the catering team with all the information they need to cater for your child.

The following information is available:

• Catering Toolkit – guidance on cross-contamination, practical guidance on catering for a coeliac diet and a gluten-free check list, available from Coeliac UK.
• Coeliac UK Website – The Food Industry section of our website is designed to help people to cater for people with coeliac disease. You can ask the catering team to take a look.
• Coeliac UK HelplineOur Helpline is staffed by dietitians and food experts. You can call them on 0845 305 2060. – 0845 305 2060 is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10am-4pm and Wednesday 11am-4pm. We are happy to answer any queries from you or the catering team.
• Coeliac UK Food & Drink Directory – our annual guide listing thousands of products can be purchased from our online shop.
• Information like our gluten-free checklist, guide to common grains and information which you will have recieved in your welcome pack may be useful for the school. You can print off additional copies of these from the publications page in the Members area of the website.
• The Institute of Hospitality has produced catering guidelines called 'Serving people with coeliac disease: Understanding gluten-free food service'. These are also available to download from this page.
• If you feel you’re not getting the support that you would like, contact your local dietitianAn expert in food and nutrition. who may be able to speak to the school or the local authority’s catering team.

packed lunches

• Some counties do not provide school dinners or you may prefer to give a packed lunch to your child.
• We have produced a ‘Packed Lunches’ leaflet, included in our parents' and carers' pack, which will help you to make imaginative and healthy packed lunches for your child.
• Have a look at our page on packed lunch ideas.