Five-year-old girl 'banned from eating chicken sandwich by nursery staff because it wasn't halal'

A mother claims staff at a nursery refused to let her daughter eat a chicken sandwich - because it wasn't halal.

Yasmin Jackson, 24, claims staff at Kingswood Daycare Nursery in Mitcham, south London, 'starved' her five-year-old daughter Amari over concerns about the meat in her packed lunch.

And police are now investigating possible race and religious offences against the nursery after an online campaign surrounding the incident. 

She took Amari to the first day of a summer play scheme at the nursery with a packed lunch on Monday, as instructed by Merton Council.

But when she collected Amari in the afternoon, she found her child hadn't been allowed to eat the chicken salad sandwich, houmous, carrots and a chocolate bar in her lunch box.

Ms Jackson, a single mother and former nursery worker, said: 'When I picked her up at the end of the day the first thing she said to me was, "mummy I'm really hungry, can I have my lunch now?"

'I went to speak to the manager and I said "why wasn't my daughter allowed her lunch" and she said "we didn't know it was healthy".

'And she said "the form was wrong, you weren't meant to send a lunch as it is provided here. We gave her a small portion of spaghetti pasta and an apple". 

'And she said we didn't know if it's halal.

'I said we are a Christian family and it was a chicken sandwich.

'And she said "we don't allow any non-halal meat in the nursery". So I thought "this is just ridiculous".'

Ms Jackson said Amari has a history of eating difficulties which have only recently improved.

Angered by the day's events, Miss Jackson posted a story on Facebook, where it was shared by friends and went viral. She says her Muslim friends are also angry about the incident.

Following the incident, the nursery has suspended its website and reported racially and religiously aggravated electronic communications to the police.

Afsheen Siddik, nursery manager, said: 'I deny the untrue and false allegations that have been made against myself and Kingswood Daycare Nursery.

'As a result I have informed Ofsted and the police who are currently dealing with this matter. 

'We work closely with parents to provide a high standard you would expect for your child.

'We treat each child as an individual and provide them with equal opportunities and meet all ethical standards.'

She would not comment on the nursery's packed lunch policy.

Ms Jackson said: 'I will send Amari to another play centre if the social worker can find her one. But I 'd rather not have a further incident of my five-year-old starved. I wouldn't do it to her and I don't expect anyone else to.'

Kingswood Daycare Nursery provides care for children aged three months to five years and was rated as 'good' in the most recent Ofsted inspection.

A police spokeswoman said: 'I can confirm that officers in Merton have received a complaint of racially and religiously aggravated communications sent to the said location which are also a matter of investigation.

'At this time officers in Merton are liaising with local partners and Ofsted.'

Merton Council said it is unaware of any complaints made about the nursery. It added: 'Kingswood Day Care Nursery is run privately. The food policy is decided by the nursery.'

An Ofsted spokesman said: 'We don’t comment on individual complaints. Our role is to ensure that schools are able to provide a safe and secure environment.' 

Culled