Parents are furious after a primary school banned packed lunches, insisting children have hot dinners.

Several mums have slammed the policy, saying it should be their choice, and criticising the quality of the meals.

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One even took her lactose-intolerant daughter out to eat her sandwiches in the car, saying the food was unsuitable.

However, the head teacher insists the free dinners are excellent and says the policy was brought in because of the need to guarantee a certain number of cooked lunches from the provider.

It applies to children in Reception and Year 1 at Bean Primary School, under the government’s Universal Infant Free School meals policy, and will be rolled out to the academic year group of infants receiving Universal Free School meals. There are three choices to order from.

Fay Armitage says her four-year-old daughter Bonnie, who is lactose intolerant, has been coming home with tummy aches, as she no longer has control over how much dairy is in her diet.

“I don’t say say she can’t eat certain food,” she said. “I just monitor what she eats and make sure she does not have too much of anything that is going to upset her tummy.”

Fay was hoping to send her in with a packed lunch of food so she would know when she brought it home what she had eaten.

But parents have been told they must not do so, as it will be sent home at the end of the day.

Instead Fay has been advised she can fill in a special dietary request form so the kitchen know what food they can give Bonnie.

But Fay does not want her daughter singled or denied certain foods - she just wants to know what she’s eaten.

“I don’t mean them to tell me every mouthful she has, but just give me an idea, so I can adjust her evening meal accordingly,” she said.

“If she has had a yoghurt I would know not to give her one later. They just told me they didn’t have enough staff to be able to do that.”

However, the school says it cannot provide that level of information.

Fay also feels the policy is taking away the children’s right to choose.

“Bean Primary School is a Unicef Rights Respecting School - this is highlighted on their website where Article 12 states that every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously,” she said.

“Yet the school is ignoring the fact that some children would prefer a packed lunch and is forcing them to have a school dinner purely for financial gain.

“It is disappointing that Mr Reilly and the school governors are taking away the rights of the children by refusing to let the younger children have a packed lunch.

“While I appreciate that the government offers Universal Infant Free School meals, this is an offer and not compulsory.

“It appears that Mr Reilly and the governors have promised the catering company a minimum number of meals each day and to ensure Mr Reilly receives all the funding he can he is forcing the children in Reception and Year 1 to have school dinners while children in all other year groups have the option of taking in a packed lunch from home.

“This is going to result in children being hungry unnecessarily and is not safeguarding my child or putting their needs first.

“It is instead preventing my child from eating properly.”

Having spoken to other mums of Reception and Year 1 pupils, Fay is not the only one who is unhappy.

Fellow Bean Primary School parent Lissa Jones, of Park Corner Road, Betsham agreed.

“A decision on packed lunch or school dinners should rest with the parents of a child based on the parents’ knowledge of what a child can and will eat.

“Being forced to eat school dinners that children do not want to eat, will not eat and being forced to eat can have a detrimental effect.

“A child could be put off going to school knowing that they will not enjoy the dinners, not eat much and therefore affect their happiness and learning.”

She added: “Of course encourage children to try new things but don’t force them.”

Reception mum Marie Eldridge added: “I believe it should be the choice of the parent as to if a child should have school dinners or packed lunch.

“This new policy has caused an extremely unnecessary amount of upset to many of the children and parents as well as being detrimental to an already massive transition for them.”

Another mum, whose daughter is in Year 1 and was part of the first cohort at the school to trial the no-packed lunches rule, says while it helps her money-wise to give her daughter the free school meals she is not happy with the food being offered.

“It’s not really fair on her that most of the week she is stuck with jacket potato that sometimes isn’t cooked very well and she comes home starving. Not to mention some of the meal options not even an adult would choose. Onion bhaji and chips? What even is that?

“Schools can decide their own policy on lunch provisions and there is no obligation on them to allow packed lunches...”

“The children just aren’t getting a variety of food.”

Yesterday (Tuesday), Fay took Bonnie out of school to eat her packed lunch in the car as she said the menu options of chicken, leek and sweetcorn pasta or veggie biryani were not suitable.

In a letter to parents the school assured them staff were checking that children had eaten enough, and would ensure more of what they like is available if not.

It is stated that if a child was not eating adequately a member of staff would let the parent know, but that they might come home with an appetite due to their busy day.

Head teacher Graham Reilly said: “The policy was brought in a year ago because of the school’s need to guarantee a certain number of cooked lunches from the provider. The quality of meals is excellent and we have received many compliments from parents and pupils.

“There were no issues last year and the policy is being rolled out as each year group progresses, so children who have brought packed lunches in the past can continue to do so until they change schools.

“The situation is explained to every parent who takes part in the meetings for reception-age children before choosing that school for their child. There is a lactose-free alternative for affected children. It is not feasible to prepare a written report on everything an individual pupil has eaten.”

He added: “It is inaccurate to claim that the school is gaining financially in any way as a result of hot meals being ordered.

“The Rights Respecting Ambassadors (children within the school) were consulted about the changes and this group of children, who are democratically elected by their classes, agreed to the new company with the changes. Children’s right to a packed lunch needs to be balanced to children’s right to a school meal, which could not be guaranteed had the school not taken the decisions it did.”

A spokesman for Kent County Council said: “Schools can decide their own policy on lunch provisions and there is no obligation on them to allow packed lunches.

“In this case, we completely understand the school’s situation which is sensible from both a financial and health perspective.”

What are universal free school meals?

In September 2014 the government introduced free school meals for all children in the first three years of their education (Key Stage 1).

It funds schools in England so they can provide every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 with a hot, nutritious meal at lunchtime, at a rate of £2.53 per pupil.

The aim was to improve academic attainment and save families money – over the course of a year the average family spends £437 on school lunches per child.

The decision came after a review of school food produced independently for the Department for Education showed children who had been given a free school dinner were academically months ahead of their peers elsewhere and more likely to eat vegetables at lunchtime instead of less healthy food like crisps