Hitler...Stalin...Headmaster??

I did once say that I thought we were going to have a separate sub-blog for wheelie-bin stories, but they seem to have tailed off lately.  But fast coming up to take their place are stories about power-mad teachers.  We've had a couple recently and here's another - a primary school in leafy Berkshire has suspended one of its pupils for four days for having a packet of Mini Cheddars in his lunch-box. Yes, you read that right - four days suspension and indeed the head is considering permanent exclusion! Clearly there must be more to this than a single packet of cheesy biscuits, but once again I am forced into my constant refrain - who exists for whose benefit, and which should take precedence, education or school rules (no chocolate, sweets, crisps or fizzy drinks in a lunchbox)?  Is it only a matter of time before we get surprise visits by the Food Police to ensure little Jimmy is being fed healthily (or what is considered healthily by the "experts") at home?  I've no problem with a school having a healthy eating policy (although I make the same caveat about what is healthy) but that's quite different from dictating what a child may or may not eat. I'm afraid I'm solidly with the mother on this one when she says "they don't have the right to tell us what we can feed our son" - though I fear it may only be a matter of time before they do!