Mere's school camp with coeliac disease

Stakeholders include Mere, her parents, the school, the lodge cook and the GP. Mere's perspective is social and emotional: she wants to belong, avoid being singled out and share the camp experience. Her parents are weighing physical safety against trust and their work constraints; they fear a severe reaction and cannot take leave to supervise. The school has a duty of care and a policy requiring a parent for medical needs, but also an obligation to include Mere. The lodge cook may feel unqualified to manage gluten-free food and worried about liability. The GP focuses on medical risk and can provide written guidance. These perspectives conflict because each person prioritises a different dimension of wellbeing-Mere prioritises taha whānau and hinengaro, her parents prioritise taha tinana, the school balances legal risk with inclusion. A judgement call must recognise that risk is not only the chance of illness but also the harm of exclusion and anxiety. The safest plan is not automatically 'stay home'; it is the plan that manages food risk while preserving belonging.

I recommend Mere attends with a written coeliac management plan. Before camp, the parents, Mere, the school and the lodge manager meet (in person or online) and the GP letter is shared. The lodge agrees to provide sealed, labelled gluten-free items and a separate preparation area, or to let Mere use her own labelled container and utensils. Mere carries backup food-gf bread, bars, fruit-and a teacher is nominated as her daily check-in person. The school does not need a parent to attend if it assigns a staff member to oversee the plan. Responsibilities: lodge staff handle food safely; the teacher checks meals; Mere tells staff if she is unsure; parents are contactable by phone. Fallback: if the lodge cannot guarantee safe food, Mere takes all her own food and the school supervises reheating in a clean microwave. This plan is justified because it reduces contamination risk while allowing social inclusion. It is more work for the school, but it is proportionate and consistent with inclusive education.

The 'pick around' suggestion is not safe enough for coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition, not a simple allergy; even small amounts of gluten-crumbs on a board, shared tongs, pasta water, soy sauce-can damage the small intestine and cause symptoms days later. A buffet where Mere picks around bread and pasta cannot control cross-contamination. It also places the responsibility on a 15-year-old to make adult risk decisions in a social setting, which is unfair. However, 'pick around' could be part of a plan only for sealed, packaged foods that are certified gluten-free, with staff checking labels. As a sole strategy it fails both safety and wellbeing: it may cause illness, anxiety and shame. A better judgement is to require the lodge to provide safe food or allow Mere to self-cater, rather than relying on avoidance. The school should record the plan and review it after camp.