<p><img class=" size-full wp-image-219" src="http://halalnews.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/moseley-school.jpg" width="615" height="409" alt="moseley-school" /></p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">A head teacher has apologised to parents after admitting his Birmingham school served non-Halal food to Muslim pupils.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">A member of staff at Moseley School, in Wake Green Road, has been removed from their post following an investigation into the ‘unintentional error’.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">Council catering staff had wrongly dished up the non-Halal food to Muslim pupils on December 12, but details have only just come to light.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">On Monday parents received a letter from Craig Jansen, head of the 1,400-pupil secondary school and sixth form, in which he apologised unreservedly for the incident.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">The controversy comes as the country is still in the grip of the horse meat scandal, which last week saw Staffordshire County Council withdrawing beef from its school menus as a precaution.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">One furious Muslim parent, whose son attends Moseley School, said of the Halal error: “I was shocked - they have failed the children.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">‘‘How did this meal get into the school system to be fed to the children?</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">“It’s just shocking that dietary requirements haven’t been met.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">Halal foods should not include pork or pork by-products, animals that were dead prior to slaughtering, blood or blood by-products or birds of prey.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: Signika, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);">Moseley School head teacher Craig Jansen</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <figure class="inline-image clearfix " style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; color: #594d4d; line-height: 18px;"><img src="http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article1330670.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Moseley+School+head+teacher+Craig+Jansen.jpg" width="615" height="409" alt="Moseley School head teacher Craig Jansen" class="captify" title="Moseley School head teacher Craig Jansen" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left;" /></figure> <p><span style="color: #594d4d; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">The parent, whose son is now on packed lunches, added: “We don’t know what was actually served. Non-Halal is a very ambiguous term.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">“They have not explained what it means but we doubt we are going to get answers.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">An inquiry was launched on December 18 by the city council after concerns wereraised by the school.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">Council department Direct Services, which provides the meals for city schools, commissioned an investigation.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">Shelia Walker, Head of Direct Services, wrote to Mr Jansen last month to confirm the mistake.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">She added: “This was found to be due to an error and was unintentional, nevertheless, Direct Services has failed to ensure the integrity of Halal-only food at Moseley School.”</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">The report went on to say that a disciplinary hearing took place on February 11 and a member of staff had been removed from the school.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">Ms Walker said Direct Services catering staff would be fully retrained and signs would be displayed to indicate Halal food.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">A robust procedure and double checking system would also be implemented for the ordering of Halal function/special events within the school, according to the findings.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">The council’s Direct Services is also planning an open afternoon at the school at which staff and suppliers will be present to answer any questions from parents, who can also sample food products.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">A Birmingham City Council spokesperson told the Mail: “We of course apologise for any concerns this has caused.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">‘‘We do have robust procedures in place and the caterer successfully provides thousands of meals daily to schools.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.25em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #494949; line-height: 1.5em;">‘‘A letter has been sent to all parents to alert them to what happened.”</p>