Benedict’s Law and Allergy Safety in Schools: Is Your Team Ready to Respond?
For the parent of a child with a serious allergy, leaving them at the school gate requires an enormous amount of trust.
They are trusting that the people caring for their child understand the risk, know where their emergency medicine is and will act without hesitation if something goes wrong.
That is why the new allergy safety requirements for schools matter.
The Department for Education published new statutory guidance on allergy safety in schools on 6 July 2026. It explains how affected schools in England must identify, reduce and respond to allergy related risks.
The changes are closely associated with Benedict’s Law, named following the death of five year old Benedict Blythe, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction at school.
This must not become another policy that is written and left on a shelf, uploaded to a website or school online portal and forgotten.
It must change what happens in the classroom, dining hall, playground, school office and on every school trip.
What does Benedict’s Law mean for schools?
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 places a statutory duty on local authority maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to:
- have an allergy safety policy
- publish that policy
- keep it under review
- have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance.
The guidance currently applies to maintained schools, including maintained special schools, academies, free schools and pupil referral units in England, subject to the specific exclusions detailed within it. Equivalent requirements are intended for independent and non maintained special schools through their respective regulatory standards.
The Government also intends to introduce further regulations covering regular allergy awareness training and the stocking of spare adrenaline devices.
That distinction matters.
The allergy safety policy duty is already statutory. The detailed training and spare device duties are expected through further regulations, but the current statutory guidance already expects schools to include these arrangements within their allergy safety systems.
In practical terms, schools should be acting now.
What should an allergy safety policy include?
A school’s allergy safety policy should reflect how the school genuinely operates. It should not be a generic document downloaded from the internet and placed in a folder.
The policy should clearly explain:
- how children and young people with allergies will be identified
- how information will be shared with relevant staff
- how exposure to known allergens will be reduced
- how food allergy risks will be managed
- how staff will receive allergy awareness and emergency-response training
- how Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans will be used
- how prescribed adrenaline will remain accessible
- how spare adrenaline devices will be stored, checked and used
- what arrangements apply to school trips and extracurricular activities
- how serious incidents and near misses will be reported and reviewed
- how the wellbeing and inclusion of pupils with allergies will be protected.
The guidance also expects the policy to be communicated to staff, volunteers, pupils and parents, published and kept under review.
A named senior leader should have clear oversight of these arrangements, but allergy safety cannot rest with one person.
It has to be understood across the whole of the school.
All staff need to know how to respond
An allergic reaction will not necessarily happen while a trained first aider is standing nearby.
It could begin:
- in a classroom
- in the dining hall
- during breakfast club
- on the playground
- in a sports lesson
- during an after-school activity
- on a coach
- on a residential visit
- while a supply teacher is covering a lesson.
The statutory guidance expects regular allergy awareness training, at least annually, for staff present when pupils are on site. This includes permanent and temporary staff, supply teachers, agency workers, peripatetic staff, regular volunteers, catering staff and those overseeing breakfast or after school clubs.
The guidance is also clear that ordinary first aid training alone is not sufficient.
Staff should understand:
- what an allergy is
- how an allergy differs from an intolerance or coeliac disease
- how allergic reactions may occur
- the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction
- how to recognise anaphylaxis
- the relationship between allergy and asthma
- where emergency medication is kept
- how to administer the devices available within the school
- when to call 999
- how to follow an Allergy Action Plan
- how to report an incident or near miss
- how allergies may affect a pupil’s emotional wellbeing and inclusion.
Knowing that adrenaline exists is not the same as being prepared to give it.
Adrenaline auto-injectors and EURneffy nasal spray
Schools must now be prepared for more than one type of emergency adrenaline device.
Many pupils at risk of anaphylaxis will carry an adrenaline auto-injector, such as an injectable pen. However, a needle free adrenaline nasal spray called EURneffy is now also licensed in the UK.
The 2 mg EURneffy device was approved for adults and children weighing at least 30 kg in July 2025. A 1 mg version was subsequently approved in June 2026 for children aged four years and over who weigh between 15 kg and under 30 kg.
This means some pupils may attend school with a prescribed nasal adrenaline device rather than an auto injector.
Schools must know:
- which device has been prescribed for each pupil
- the correct dose
- where both prescribed devices are kept
- how the device is administered
- whether and when a second dose may be needed
- what the pupil’s Allergy Action Plan requires
- which staff have received practical familiarisation
- what must happen immediately after it is used.
People at risk of anaphylaxis are advised to carry two devices, whether these are auto injectors or nasal adrenaline devices, because a second dose may be required. After adrenaline has been administered, 999 must be called immediately.
Can schools stock EURneffy as a spare device?
Not currently.
EURneffy may be prescribed to an individual pupil, but the present regulations allow schools to purchase only adrenaline auto injectors as spare school devices.
Where a pupil has been prescribed a nasal adrenaline device but it is unavailable during an emergency, the school’s spare auto injector may be used in accordance with the statutory guidance and emergency arrangements.
This is one of the reasons school training must now be device specific.
A session that refers only to “using an EpiPen” may not reflect the medication and equipment actually present in the school.
Emergency adrenaline must be accessible
An emergency device is of little use when staff cannot find it or cannot reach it quickly.
The guidance states that prescribed and spare adrenaline devices should not be locked away or stored in an office where access is restricted. They must be stored appropriately, protected from extremes of heat and direct sunlight, and remain readily accessible.
Schools should have clear arrangements for:
- the location of prescribed devices
- the location of spare auto injectors
- checking expiry dates
- checking the correct doses are available
- ensuring devices are stored in pairs
- replacing devices after use or expiry
- accessing medication during trips, clubs and sports activities
- briefing temporary and supply staff
- recording when a device is used.
The guidance states that adrenaline should be administered promptly during anaphylaxis and that devices must be close enough to be used within five minutes.
In a real emergency, nobody should be searching cupboards, looking for a key or asking who is authorised to open an office.
Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans
Children who require specific or additional support because of an allergy may need an Individual Healthcare Plan.
The plan should explain:
- the pupil’s known allergens
- how exposure may occur
- the signs and symptoms staff should look for
- which emergency medicine has been prescribed
- where the medicine is stored
- who should administer it
- when 999 must be called
- how parents or carers will be contacted
- arrangements for food, lessons, clubs and trips
- any reasonable adjustments required.
Where a healthcare professional has issued an Allergy Action Plan or Asthma Action Plan, it should be attached to and reflected within the Individual Healthcare Plan.
Most importantly, the people expected to follow the plan must know that it exists and understand what it says.
A beautifully written plan provides little protection if it is inaccessible or unknown to the staff caring for that child.
Allergy safety does not stop at the dining hall
Food is an obvious concern, but allergens can appear throughout school life.
Potential risks may arise through:
- cooking and food technology lessons
- breakfast and after school clubs
- packed lunches and school meals
- birthday treats and celebrations
- school fairs
- cultural events
- baking ingredients used during play
- packaging used for art and craft
- animal feed
- farm visits
- external caterers
- cross contamination from utensils and surfaces
- residential and educational visits.
A “nut free school” notice is not, by itself, an allergy safety system.
Schools need proportionate risk assessment, reliable communication and people who understand what to do when the plan does not go as expected.
School trips require the same level of readiness
A child’s allergy does not disappear when they leave the school gates.
Before an off site activity, schools should consider:
- the pupil’s Individual Healthcare Plan and Allergy Action Plan
- likely exposure to allergens
- who will carry the pupil’s two prescribed devices
- whether emergency medicine will remain immediately accessible
- which trained staff will attend
- arrangements with the venue and food provider
- mobile phone coverage and emergency access
- whether spare auto injectors should also be taken
- overnight and residential arrangements.
The guidance expects children at risk of anaphylaxis to have their own prescribed devices with them and trained staff available to administer adrenaline in an emergency.
The purpose is not to exclude children from valuable experiences.
It is to make those experiences safe.
Near misses must be taken seriously
A near miss might involve:
- the wrong food nearly being served
- a device being found out of date
- medication being left behind during a trip
- staff being unable to find an emergency plan
- a reaction being misidentified
- a delay in locating adrenaline
- important information not reaching a temporary member of staff.
No child needs to be harmed for an organisation to learn something important.
The new guidance requires schools to address serious incidents and near misses within their allergy safety arrangements. These events should be recorded, reviewed and used to improve systems.
The question should never be, “Did we get away with it?”
It should be, “What must we change before this happens again?”
A practical allergy safety checklist for schools
Ask yourself:
- Do we have a separate, published allergy safety policy?
- Does it reflect what genuinely happens in our school?
- Is a senior leader responsible for overseeing it?
- Do we know which pupils, staff and regular visitors have allergies?
- Are Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans current?
- Can relevant staff access those plans immediately?
- Has every appropriate member of staff received allergy awareness training?
- Does that include temporary, supply, catering and club staff?
- Can staff recognise anaphylaxis?
- Do they know to give adrenaline promptly and call 999?
- Can they use every prescribed device present, including EURneffy where applicable?
- Are prescribed devices immediately accessible?
- Do we hold suitable spare auto injectors in the correct doses?
- Are expiry dates and storage conditions checked?
- Are allergies considered during trips, clubs, sport and special events?
- Do we record and learn from near misses?
- Have we tested our arrangements through a realistic scenario?
- Would our staff genuinely feel ready if a child reacted today?
That final question is the one that matters.
Why practical training matters
At Essential 6, we have never believed that good emergency training should be delivered as a box ticking exercise.
A certificate cannot administer adrenaline.
A policy cannot comfort a frightened child.
And a video cannot replace the confidence that comes from handling a training device, talking through a real scenario and practising what to do under pressure.
When anaphylaxis happens, the person responding may feel frightened too. Their hands may shake. They may worry about getting something wrong.
Training should prepare them for that moment.
It should allow staff to:
- handle the devices they may encounter
- practise the correct actions
- understand the school’s own procedures
- ask the questions they may be reluctant to ask elsewhere
- work through realistic situations
- develop the confidence to act promptly.
Our approach is practical, supportive and grounded in what people may genuinely face.
We do not want someone to leave our training simply remembering a presentation.
We want them to leave thinking:
“I know what to look for. I know where the equipment is. I know what to do and I will act confidently.”
That is the standard children, parents and school staff deserve.
How Essential 6 can support your school
Essential 6 can provide practical training covering:
- allergy awareness
- recognition of allergic reactions
- recognising and responding to anaphylaxis
- adrenaline auto injector familiarisation
- EURneffy nasal adrenaline awareness and practical familiarisation
- emergency response procedures
- asthma considerations
- incident and near miss learning
- paediatric first aid to first aid at work training courses
- basic life support and anaphylaxis training
- school specific scenarios.
Training can be delivered at your school, allowing us to relate the session to your environment, procedures and the devices your staff may encounter.
We also provide training from our centre in Torquay and support schools, academy trusts and education providers across Devon, the South West and throughout the UK.
Essential 6 has trained more than 100,000 people and received over 1,000 five-star Google reviews.
We are proud of those numbers, but they are not why we do this.
We do it because behind every course is a real person who may one day need to step forward and help someone.
When that moment comes, we want them to be ready.
Is your school ready?
Do not wait for a serious reaction to reveal the gaps in your arrangements.
Review your policy. Check your devices. Speak to families. Include your temporary and catering teams. Test whether medication can actually be reached. Give your staff the opportunity to practise.
Most importantly, make sure they have the confidence to respond when it matters.
Speak to Essential 6
To discuss allergy awareness, anaphylaxis, EURneffy or paediatric first aid training for your school:
Call Essential 6 on 01803 26b 66 66
Email info@essential6.co.uk
Training is available at your school, at our Torquay training centre and at locations across the UK.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Schools should consult the current Department for Education guidance and follow the individual clinical advice and emergency plans provided for each pupil.
