Table 5 Qualitative themes, summary statement, codes and supporting quotations related to Theme 4: Communication is a multi-way street between all parties

Theme description: According to teachers, effective communication relies on many stakeholders including other teachers, administration, other staff, families and students. Accounts of food allergy-related bullying was observed but teachers believed ongoing open conversation about food allergy with all students helped build safe spaces to prevent bullying. Specifically, communication with families who have EAL needs to be focused on as there are identified communication gaps in addressing food allergy-related topics such as foods allowed in the classroom. Teachers identified ideally using infographics, obtaining translator resources in multi-media sources. Communication gaps between teachers and other staff also put children with food allergy at risk of reaction, especially in situations when the teachers are not directly supervising their students (i.e., lunch break, students are moving between classes).

Codes

Supporting Quotes

Internal communication

There’s red stop signs near the entrances of the classroom just to say that someone in this classroom has a severe food allergy. It is a whole school plan on how we, um, just communicate with each other, give each other reminders about which class has those severe food allergies. (T8)

I’m talking to our food coordinator like, “Don’t give it to the other [grade] 1/2 class cause that boy has peanut allergies” and “That grade 5 class there’s a boy with peanut allergy”. “So can he eat the crackers, can I feed him cheese?” Like I get questions like that, [and teacher says] “Yeah, come check with me if you need but like most things are fine except like this granola, or like sometimes cookies.” So those are the questions that come to me more, is like, what can I feed this child? Well, most things probably don’t have fish but I’m really glad you’re asking. (T19)

External communication

It’s [food allergy communication] usually a part of the package that I send home at the beginning [of the school year]. I also verbalize it [to parents] making sure that they do understand that [the school’ is a no peanut kinda situation um, or no whatsoever. It’s clearly outline. (T16)

[Food allergy] can be really hard to communicate with parents who come from communities where [food allergy] just doesn’t exist, or they just don’t know the English word for it right. (T7)

I received communication back once where the parent was very upset and said [the child’s sandwich] wasn’t peanut butter. It was a [nut spread alternative]. My response was, I’m not with the kids at lunchtime. I’m sorry that happened. I will communicate to [lunch supervisor] that it’s [nut spread alternative]. (T12)

[Food allergy-related bullying] has never been brought to my attention but “you gotta shut down that real quick”

You gotta shut that down real quick. And then you go to pull the kids to the side afterwards, who were [bullying], sit them down and explain to them and teach them about […] why it’s not a joke and explain to them why it’s not funny, and [food allergy] is actually very serious. (T13)

I seen the little micro-aggressions of kids saying, “Why don’t you just go eat a peanut butter sandwich?” “Why don’t you just go eat a peanut?” […] I haven’t seen a situation where a child has intentionally put in an allergen in another child’s lunch, or in their food or wherever they’re going to be eating or drinking. But, how I’ve handled that in the past is I have held the child back who was saying those things and I had a conversation with them to say that, “This is very serious, this is something that I’ll be talking to the principal about, and this is something I’ll be talking to your family about, because my job is to keep you safe at school, and my job is also to keep your peers safe. And if you’re saying these things and it eventually escalates to acting on it, this could result in that other person being badly hurt.” (T17)

I’ve seen less so bullying at that stage but more where so the kids assume what that kid can and can’t have or can and cannot do. And depending on the personality of the child with the allergies, they might sort of go along with that. Or another child might say, “Oh they can’t do that because they have allergies” or “They can’t eat this”. (T14)