Jul
Advice For Schools, Safeguarding
Allergy Awareness – Benedict’s Law – what is it and what does it mean for schools?
Education Adviser Claire Steele discusses allergy safety and what schools need to do ahead of Benedict’s Law, which comes into force from September 2026…
From September 2026, Benedict’s Law comes into force and places responsibilities on all schools in England to ensure they are compliant with the Allergy Safety in Schools statutory guidance (July 2026).
Schools in the state sector will be expected to have become compliant with Benedict’s Law by the end of the Autumn Term 2026. Independent schools will also have the spring term in 2027 to be fully compliant.
But what exactly is the guidance, and why is it important?
The History – Natasha’s Law
Natasha’s Law, introduced in October 2021, was a landmark regulation that transformed food allergen labelling in the UK. It is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 after eating a baguette containing hidden sesame seeds to which she was allergic.
Sesame wasn’t listed as an ingredient on the packaging. Had it been, Natasha would be alive today. Her death was entirely preventable.
Natasha’s Law requires all pre-packed foods for direct sale – food made on the premises and packaged for sale, such as sandwiches, salads and cakes – to display a full ingredients list with the top 14 allergens clearly highlighted.
The introduction of Natasha’s Law closed a dangerous loophole in food safety, and the greater transparency it provides means people in the UK living with food allergies can have greater confidence that the foods they buy are safe to eat.
What is Benedict’s law?
Benedict’s Law, also known as the School Allergy Safety Bill, is legislation that makes schools safer for the estimated 680,000 pupils in England with an allergy. It is named after 5-year-old Benedict Blythe, who sadly died in December 2021 from anaphylactic shock after a severe allergic reaction while in school.
Amazingly, there is currently no requirement for schools to have anything in place around allergies – even when they have vulnerable children, known to suffer severe allergy or anaphylactic reactions, in their school.
According to the official Benedict Blythe website, in 2024, 70% of schools surveyed did not have the following measures in place:
- A named, designated allergy lead
- Spare allergy pens
- Allergy-trained staff
- School allergy policy
- Lessons to be learned from serious incidents or ‘near misses’
What do Schools Need to do?
To be prepared for Benedict’s Law coming into force, schools should take several actions now.
Firstly, nominate one senior member of school staff as the designated allergy lead. This may be you as DSL, or it may fall under the first aid leader’s remit, but certainly all staff need to know who the nominated person in school is.
This person should take the lead on and be responsible for several things:
- Creating a risk register of all children with allergies and keeping it updated with their details and photos so they are easily recognisable to staff.
- Booking regular allergy and anaphylaxis first aid training for staff and keeping an updated list of who has completed training and when, checking this is renewed as appropriate – this means all staff likely to come into contact with pupils, including dinner supervisors, breakfast club staff, cleaners etc.
- Implementing any changes or processes needed in the school to reduce risk and communicating them to staff, parents, and carers. For example, this could include reviewing the processes for DT lessons and school parties, gifting food for birthdays, and considering food and drink for whole-school events.
- Being the contact for any concerns or near misses, which all need reporting and recording, with near misses examined for learning points and then actioned.
- Making sure debriefs happen after any incidents and supporting staff and students
To help make this duty easier to implement, I have created a downloadable risk register where you can keep all this information in one easily accessible place.
Download our allergy risk register for just £9.99
Clarity in Policy
To ensure your systems and actions as a school are clear to everyone, every school should have an allergy policy that sets out the whole school’s approach to managing allergies.
It should detail the specific procedures and responsibilities in place for managing allergies in the school, including an emergency response plan for anaphylaxis.
The policy should be read alongside the school’s Health and Safety policy and Medical Conditions or Healthcare Needs policy as treating anaphylaxis falls under First Aid treatment.
The policy should be reviewed at least every term and be updated subject to relevant changes, such as best practice updates or changes in a child’s circumstances
Every child with allergies or anaphylaxis should have an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) – as should all children with ongoing medical conditions – that outlines the support they need in school.
The IHP should explain:
- Exactly what care a child needs in school
- When they need care
- Who will provide that care
They should be written in collaboration between the school, the child’s parents or carers and a healthcare professional. You must then get confirmation that the child’s parents or carers are happy with the plan.
Having this plan in place helps everyone in the school to understand their individual responsibilities for keeping a child safe, including in the event of a medical emergency like anaphylaxis.
Off-site Visits
It is crucial to ensure that procedures for events such as school trips are allergy aware and these procedures are rigorously enforced.
All staff involved in the visits should know which children have allergies and should be trained to recognise a reaction.
Children with allergies should always be supervised by a member of staff who has received training in AAI administration (Adrenaline Auto-Injectors).
Ensure that the risk assessments prior to the trip include assessing any risks to the allergic child, risks in the environment and any risks when children are eating, checking that the child or member of staff supervising them (dependent on age) will be carrying the 2 AAIs at all times – and that these are transported and stored correctly throughout the trip.
Make sure the child’s allergy action plan and IHP are taken on the trip and are available should they be needed.
Are we Being Inclusive?
It is important here to think of our practice in school around allergies – how can we ensure children’s safety without singling them out from their peers?
For instance, it is common practice at lunchtime in primary schools for ‘allergy children’ (even the term is discriminating) to wear a lanyard or have a different coloured lunchtray to identify them to the dinner supervisors so that they get the correct food – but we also need to think of the lived experience of this child and how ‘different’ we are making them feel for having a medical need that is beyond anyone’s control.
This kind of practice could give rise to allergy-based bullying – so how can we mitigate this in school?
It comes back to knowing our children individually – and this extends to dinner staff. Wouldn’t having a discreet photo of the children with allergies behind the counter (safely stored after lunch to ensure compliance with GDPR) and knowing the children personally be just as effective, but less discriminatory?
This duty to keep children safe from bullying extends to breakfast and after-school clubs, as well as on trips.
All of this raises further questions for us as DSLs – how much do we know about the specific vulnerabilities that some of our pupils face? Is this key information about allergies shared amongst the whole staff? We may well have a detailed Vulnerable Child Register – but is there still room for more?
Learning from Near Misses
Another key part of the guidance is the importance of recording and reporting all serious incidents and near misses, and learning from these occasions.
Incidents should be recorded promptly and then reported to parents and governors promptly.
In discussion with the allergy lead, lessons should be learned and policies and IHPs updated to reflect the learning and improve practice for the future.
Where are you at the Moment?
Take a minute to assess where your school sits currently in readiness for September.
- Do you know all the children who have allergies and those who are vulnerable to anaphylactic reactions?
- Do their class teachers, form tutors, pastoral leads, teaching assistants and dinner staff know about this?
- Would they know how to react to a severe allergic reaction?
- Are they trained, and do they know where medication is kept?
- When were ALL STAFF last trained on anaphylaxis, and what training have you got booked in to ensure EVERYONE is trained?
- Do you currently have a risk register for those with allergies, and is it clear who is known to be at risk of anaphylactic shock?
- Where is this held? How often is it updated? Who has access to it?
- How does this relate to the whole school medical list?
- Are these children part of your Vulnerable Child Register? Would it be wise to include them – along with a link to or a copy of their IHP and contact details for parents/carers?
What might you need to change in your school in readiness to be compliant with the Allergy Safety in Schools statutory guidance (July 2026)?
This guidance brings allergy management firmly into the same sphere of leadership oversight and governance as safeguarding and the management of medical conditions under Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions at School
It places a clearer and stronger focus on accountable leadership, effective staff training, access to spare adrenaline auto-injectors, and using incidents and near misses as opportunities for learning and improvement. Is your school ready for September?
If you found this blog useful, you may also be interested in reading the following blogs:
Jan
Allergy Risk Register – Benedict’s Law Compliant
Allergy Risk Register – Benedict’s Law CompliantBenedict’s Law has now been formally passed by the Government and Allergy Safety in Schools, requiring schools (amongst other things) to hold an Allergy Risk Register from 1st September 2026.
We have created a fully compliant register for you to download and complete, saving hours of work. It can be completed quickly and shared with those who need the information, ensuring that vital details are held centrally and can be accessed at the touch of a button.
Download our allergy risk register for just £9.99 About the Author
Claire Steele - Adviser, Services For Education
With over 20 years of experience in primary education, Claire Steele is a respected and committed school leader who has worked across a diverse range of schools and multi-academy trusts.
Her previous roles include Assistant Principal, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), SENCo, and Senior Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead. She has also worked extensively with partners to support the delivery of a wide range of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). Claire also holds the NPQSL and NPQLTD.
Claire is deeply passionate about creating safe, inclusive, and nurturing school environments, where the well-being of pupils is at the heart of practice. She brings her extensive knowledge, dedication, and enthusiasm to Services For Education, supporting schools in embedding effective and compassionate safeguarding and SEND practices at every level.
As part of the team of advisers at Services For Education, Claire champions SEND and equality, ensuring these values remain central to all aspects of her work. Most recently, she has developed the newly launched SEND offer from Services For Education. She also delivers high-quality safeguarding training and conducts comprehensive safeguarding audits in schools.
