Allergies Providing a suitable menu that is safe from any allergies listed by students, group leaders and team members is of paramount importance. All agencies will provide us with a list of allergies for each student, and it is your responsibility to ensure that meals free from these allergens is provided at each mealtime. Remember, students will be unfamiliar with British food, and possibly unable to read labels in English, they are relying on you to provide the correct food. 

You may encounter a wide range of allergies throughout the summer, but the most common will be food-born allergies. 

All allergy lists must be given to the catering manager and food suppliers (including restaurants and packed meal suppliers) in advance of the student’s arrival. 

Part of the activity leader’s role during mealtime supervision is to check that there are options available free from the listed allergens, and where necessary, to point out each option to the student.   

The UK Government lists the following allergies as necessary to list in the ingredients of any meal, but Language in Action will cater for more if required. 

The allergens are; celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).

Within the first 24 hours of a student’s arrival, the Welfare Manager should meet with any student that has a severe allergy, along with their group leader, to discuss what to do in an emergency situation and to confirm details (e.g. that suitable meals are planned). Some students will carry medication, for example an Epinephrine autoinjector (EpiPen) – you must speak with them about storage, use, who has knowledge and who is responsible (usually the student and their group leader)

Aside from the above allergy requirements, other dietary requirements are likely to be for medical reasons (e.g. diabetic students), or for religious reasons. You should speak with the group leaders to fully understand what is and is not suitable for a student to eat, and maintain an open dialogue about it throughout their stay. 

Confidence in areas such as this grow from communication – they need to know you are working hard to ensure their needs are met. 

The largest non-allergy related dietary requirement you are likely to encounter is a request for a Halal diet from practising Muslims. Some key factors to note are that all meat and poultry must be labelled as Halal, and no pork or food containing alcohol is permitted. You can read more about a Halal diet here. The Welfare Manager must check with the catering team to ensure food is correctly labelled.

Language in Action aims to support and welcome students who have a physical or learning disability and to minimise the impact that their disability has on their learning and overall experience at the school. 

Student disabilities will be disclosed at the application stage and noted on the Student lists provided by your Programme Manger. Part of the Welfare Management role is to ensure that the team are made aware of any disabilities, and how to manage them. A welfare meeting should be held on arrivals day with the student and their group leader to ensure that everyone understands the expectations and abilities of the summer programme.

Any information relating to special educational needs must be shared with the Director of Studies prior to arrival, and the Director of Studies or Senior teacher should be present for a welfare meeting with the student on arrival day. 

For more information on disability management and policies, see the Language in Action Staff Handbook available on your HR Portal.