Tuesday 16 July 2013

Dinner lady sacked for serving Muslim children with non-halal meat at multi-faith school

By Sara Malm
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A dinner lady has been sacked for accidentally serving non-halal meat to Muslim students at a multi-faith school.

The incident outraged parents at the 'halal-only' Moseley School in Birmingham, and they have forced the headmaster to apologise for 'insulting' their faith.
The member of staff has been dismissed after the 'unintentional error' on December 12 last year recently came to light.
Dinner dismissal: A dinner lady has been sacked from multi-faith Moseley School for serving non-halal meat
Dinner dismissal: A dinner lady has been sacked from multi-faith Moseley School in Birmingham, for unintentionally serving non-halal meat

All 1,400 students at Moseley school are served halal meat, regardless of their religion.

It has not been specified what type of meat was served, but the person responsible for serving the food was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing last Monday.

Parents were informed of the mistake this month, and reacted with outrage, forcing headteacher Carl Jansen to apologise for the ‘unintentional error'.
However, Muslim parents are demanding others be held accountable for the mistake, which they say call 'an insult to our faith’.

‘The school have failed the children,' one parent said yesterday. ‘How did this meal get into the school system to be fed to the children?

‘It's just shocking that dietary requirements haven't been met.'

‘It is a disgrace that this could be allowed to happen and we demand more action is take,' a father of a sixth form student said yesterday.

‘It could not just be the error or one lady, there must be people at the top responsible too who also need to be sacked. It is an insult to our faith.’
You've been served: The dinner lady was sacked last Monday following a disciplinary hearing, after it came to light that non-halal meat had been served at the multi-faith school
You've been served: The dinner lady was sacked last Monday following a disciplinary hearing, after it came to light that non-halal meat had been served at the multi-faith school

Not all parents have taken the news with the same shock, saying the dinner lady should not have been sacked over a mistake.

‘It's a little bit harsh to sack somebody because of one little mistake,' father-of-three Barry Jackman said.

‘Yes, we have to respect religions and standards which are expected - but it was a one-off and surely the lady doesn't deserve to lose her job.’ 

The details of the non-halal school dinner only came to light last month, when provider Birmingham council department Direct Services confirmed the mistake.
Sheila Walker, head of Direct Services, said: ‘This was found to be due to an error and was unintentional, nevertheless, we have failed to ensure the integrity of Halal only food at Moseley School.’ 

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson added: ‘We of course apologise for any concerns this has caused.'