OUTRAGED parents at a South Harrow primary say their children are getting food poisoning from school dinners.

Pupils at Heathland School, formerly Roxeth Manor, say they have found hairs in their lunch, as well as undercooked meat, and some mothers and fathers claim upset stomaches are a regular occurrence.

The school vehemently denies the claims, but mother-of-three Bhavani Kotecha, 33, has collected 66 signatures from worried parents.

She said: “My children are scared to go to school now. They loved school, especially my little one. They don't want to go in anymore, they hate school now.”

Ozlem Bilir, 31, of Learner Drive, South Harrow, said: “The biggest problem is the hygiene – the uncooked chicken.

“My daughter was saying it was pink inside, there was hair on the plate and hair in the food. It's constant.

“My six-year-old was crying out and saying 'the food was absolutely disgusting today.”

She said she was so upset about the situation she is moving her three children to Earlsmead First and Middle School, in Arundel Drive.

Problems with school dinners are just one of a number of concerns Ms Kotecha, of Priory Gardens, Sudbury Hill, says she has raised with the school.

The petition also hits out at the approach to tackling lateness, which is punished through a red card system.

Each time a pupil is late in the morning or when returning from lunch they are given a red card to take home, and if they are persistently late educational welfare officers, sometimes known as education social workers, are informed.

Parents say the school, in Eastcote Lane, does not get in touch with them directly and say they do not get the chance to discuss the issue with staff before council officers are called in.

Simone Joseph, 31, of Barley Close, Wembley, says she received a letter from the education welfare officer after one of her two daughters was twice late back from lunch.

She said: “A lot of children don't pass the cards on. The only time you do know is when you get this letter. She was late twice in the lunch time period. That's not because of me, she was already in school.

“When social workers get told, alarm bells start ringing because everyone knows what social workers are like. Once they are in your home they are not coming out again.”

Parents say they have raised the issues with the school and Ms Kotecha said she personally handed the petition in at the school office this morning.

But Chris Spruce, headteacher at Heathland, said he had not received the petition and claimed no one complained to him about school dinners or the procedure for dealing with lateness.

He claimed there is no problem with meals and said in summer 2009 Heathland was given a Healthy Schools Award for its lunches, which are provided through a private catering company.

He told the Harrow Times it was not school policy to tell social workers before contacting parents directly, saying staff get in touch with parents about all persistent issues.

He said the school's policy was to give children a red card if they are late in the morning, but to praise them and give them a green card if they then arrive on time on future days.

He said: “The law insists that parents send their children to school on time for reasons of safeguarding.

“There are other reasons. Timeliness and punctuality are life skills which will serve us well in work.”

He added: “We are now one of the most punctual schools in Harrow.”

He said it was the school policy to talk to parents about any persistent issue, including lateness.

Heather Clements, Harrow Council's director of schools and children's development, said: “We have every confidence in the leadership of Heathland School.

“The school's lateness policy is determined by it, and in this case the school merely recognises prompt attendance. There have been no referrals to the council over lateness.

“The local authority made a significant recent investment in kitchens and catering on the school site to provide hot meals for all pupils.

“We have had no reports of illness or any complaints over food.”

A newsletter sent to parents reads: “Parents of pupils who are persistently late will receive a letter, and in some cases a visit, from the education welfare officer.

“However, lateness at our school has reduced dramatically this term.