Benedict’s Law: Allergy & Anaphylaxis Safety in Schools
Updated: 6 hours ago
Benedict’s Law and Allergy Safety in Schools: What Schools and First Aiders Need to Know
By Garry Perkins, former Paramedic and Foster Carer, and Founder of Sussex First Aid Courses Ltd
For a child with a serious allergy, school should be a place where they can learn, play, eat and take part in everyday activities without their family constantly worrying about whether an allergic emergency will be recognised and managed correctly.
From my own perspective as a former paramedic with more than 35 years' experience in emergency care, and as a former foster carer, allergy and anaphylaxis awareness has always been a subject particularly close to my heart.
I have seen first-hand just how quickly someone experiencing anaphylaxis can deteriorate.
One moment a child or adult may appear relatively well. Within a very short period they can develop serious problems with their airway, breathing or circulation.
That is why preparation matters.
A school can have policies, individual healthcare plans, trained staff and emergency adrenaline available before an incident occurs.
And when anaphylaxis does happen, quick recognition and prompt action can save a life.
What is Benedict’s Law?
The name Benedict’s Law comes from the campaign for stronger allergy protection in schools following the death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who died after experiencing anaphylaxis at school in 2021.
His family established the Benedict Blythe Foundation and campaigned for greater consistency in how schools protect and support pupils with allergies.
That work, alongside campaigning by clinicians, allergy organisations, families and others, has contributed to significant changes in allergy safety within schools.
The legal framework in England has now been strengthened through the
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and new Department for Education statutory guidance on Allergy safety in schools. (Legislation.gov.uk)
The Department for Education guidance sets out what schools must do to support pupils with allergies, including having an allergy safety policy, putting allergy training in place for staff, identifying pupils who require Individual Healthcare Plans and learning from serious incidents and near misses. (GOV.UK)
What changed from September 2026?
From September 2026, new allergy-safety duties apply to relevant schools in England.
The Government has stated that schools must strengthen their arrangements around allergy management. This includes requirements concerning allergy policies, staff awareness and training, emergency adrenaline arrangements, record keeping and individual support for pupils. (GOV.UK)
T
he statutory guidance specifically expects schools to:
Create and publish an allergy safety policy
Put allergy safety training in place for all staff
Identify children and young people who need an Individual Healthcare Plan
Maintain appropriate arrangements around adrenaline auto-injectors
Record and learn from serious allergic incidents and near misses (GOV.UK)
This moves allergy safety towards a much more consistent whole-school approach.
Which schools does the statutory guidance apply to?
The Department for Education guidance applies directly to:
Local-authority-maintained schools, including relevant special schools
Pupil referral units
Academies
Free schools
Alternative provision academies
There are some exclusions and differences for particular settings.
The Department for Education says that, at present, the guidance is not yet a statutory requirement for independent schools and non-local-authority-maintained special schools, although it intends to introduce allergy-safety requirements through the appropriate regulatory standards.
The guidance may nevertheless be useful for independent schools, early-years settings, further education colleges and other post-16 settings. (GOV.UK)
Why whole-school training matters
One of the most important changes is the emphasis on allergy awareness across the school.
Anaphylaxis does not necessarily happen while the school's designated first aider happens to be standing nearby.
It could happen:
In a classroom
In the playground
During lunch
On a school trip
During PE
At an after-school club
On a sports field
In a corridor
While travelling to another school activity
That means allergy awareness cannot simply sit with one or two first aiders.
The wider school team needs to know what anaphylaxis looks like and how to summon help.
Teachers, teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors, office teams, pastoral staff, sports staff and support staff can all potentially find themselves first on scene.
The Department for Education's statutory guidance specifically includes putting allergy-safety training in place for all staff. (GOV.UK)
Recognising anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is a serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
It can cause sudden problems with:
Airway
Signs can include:
Swelling of the tongue or throat
Difficulty swallowing
A feeling of throat tightness
Hoarse or altered voice
Noisy breathing
Breathing
Look for:
Difficulty breathing
Wheezing
Persistent coughing
Tightness in the chest
Rapid or laboured breathing
Circulation
Look for:
Feeling faint or dizzy
Pale or clammy skin
Confusion
Collapse
Reduced consciousness
There may also be an itchy rash, flushing, swelling of the lips or face, abdominal symptoms or vomiting.
But there is an extremely important first-aid message:
A rash does not have to be present for someone to be experiencing anaphylaxis.
A serious allergic reaction should be recognised from the overall clinical picture, particularly sudden airway, breathing or circulation problems.
Adrenaline is the emergency treatment
Where anaphylaxis is suspected and an appropriate adrenaline auto-injector is available, adrenaline should be given promptly in accordance with the child's emergency plan and the instructions for the device.
Do not wait to see whether the reaction gets worse.
Do not rely on antihistamines to treat anaphylaxis.
Antihistamines may help some allergic symptoms, but they are not a substitute for adrenaline in an anaphylactic emergency.
After administering adrenaline:
Call 999 and say: “Anaphylaxis.”
Continue to monitor the pupil closely while waiting for the ambulance service.
Positioning the pupil matters
Correct positioning is another important part of anaphylaxis management.
A pupil who is faint, dizzy or showing signs of circulatory collapse should generally be laid flat, with their legs raised where appropriate.
If they are experiencing significant breathing difficulty, they may be more comfortable sitting up carefully.
The important message is:
Do not allow someone with suspected anaphylaxis to suddenly stand or walk around.
Even if they tell you they feel better following adrenaline, they still require emergency assessment.
If the pupil has an inhaler
Some children with allergies also have asthma and may have a prescribed reliever inhaler.
If they are wheezing or experiencing breathing difficulty, their prescribed reliever inhaler can also be used in accordance with their normal asthma plan.
However:
An inhaler does not replace adrenaline when anaphylaxis is suspected.
Adrenaline remains the priority treatment for anaphylaxis.
Top Tip – Using an EpiPen®
For an EpiPen®, we use a simple phrase during training:
Blue to the sky – orange to the thigh
Remove the blue safety cap.
Keep your fingers away from the orange end.
Place the orange end firmly against the outer mid-thigh and activate the device as instructed.
Then:
Hold firmly for three long seconds.
In an emergency, people naturally become anxious and can rush.
Human factors matter.
So deliberately slow yourself down:
One… two… three.
The objective is not to panic and pull the device away immediately.
Schools should also remember that different brands of adrenaline auto-injector may operate differently, so staff should become familiar with the devices they may be expected to use.
Spare adrenaline auto-injectors in schools
Emergency access to adrenaline is another important part of the new approach.
Government information around the new school allergy requirements includes schools stocking spare adrenaline devices for emergency situations, alongside training in their use. (GOV.UK)
Schools should have clear arrangements covering issues such as:
Where spare devices are stored
Who can access them
Which pupils may receive them
Expiry-date checking
Recording their use
Replacing devices after use or expiry
Staff training
Emergency procedures
A potentially life-saving device needs to be accessible when it is required, rather than locked somewhere that staff cannot reach quickly.
Schools should follow the current Department for Education guidance and their individual policies when establishing these arrangements.
Individual Healthcare Plans matter
Children with significant allergies may require an Individual Healthcare Plan, often alongside their individual Allergy Action Plan.
A good plan can help staff quickly understand:
What the child is allergic to
How their previous reactions have presented
What signs and symptoms to look for
Where their medication is kept
Which adrenaline auto-injector they use
When adrenaline should be administered
When emergency help should be called
Whether they have asthma or other relevant medical conditions
Who should be contacted following an incident
The Department for Education has published an Individual Healthcare Plan template alongside its statutory allergy guidance. (GOV.UK)
Allergy safety is not just about the emergency
Good allergy management starts long before an ambulance needs to be called.
Schools should think about allergy risk throughout everyday school life.
This includes communication between staff, parents and carers; catering arrangements; school trips; classroom activities; food used in lessons; celebrations; sports; after-school activities; substitute staff and visitors.
It also means ensuring children with allergies are included rather than unnecessarily excluded from school activities.
A good allergy policy should help the whole school understand both prevention and emergency response.
Learn from near misses too
Another important element of the new guidance is learning from incidents and near misses.
You do not need to wait until a child experiences a serious episode before reviewing what happened.
If a pupil's medication could not immediately be located, staff were uncertain about what to do, information had not been passed between departments or there was confusion around an allergy, that should be treated as an opportunity to improve systems.
The new Department for Education guidance specifically includes recording and learning from serious incidents and near misses. (GOV.UK)
Our Benedict’s Law School Training
At Sussex First Aid Courses, we have developed practical Benedict's Law and school allergy training to help schools understand the new requirements and, most importantly, give staff confidence in recognising and managing an allergic emergency.
Training can be delivered directly at your school or education setting and adapted for primary schools, secondary schools, special schools and alternative provision.
It is suitable for:
Teachers
Teaching assistants
Lunchtime supervisors
Office and reception teams
Pastoral staff
Support staff
Sports and PE staff
First aiders
Senior leadership teams
Other staff who may need to respond to an allergic emergency
What our training covers
Our training can include:
Understanding the new allergy-safety requirements
Allergy awareness in schools
Recognising mild and serious allergic reactions
Recognising anaphylaxis
Airway, breathing and circulation warning signs
Emergency management of anaphylaxis
Correct casualty positioning
Calling 999 and communicating effectively with the ambulance service
Safe use of adrenaline auto-injectors
Practical trainer-pen exercises
EpiPen®
Jext®
Other appropriate devices where relevant
Spare adrenaline arrangements
Individual Healthcare Plans
Allergy Action Plans
Supporting pupils with allergies
Human factors during an emergency
Scenario-based practice
For us, the practical element is particularly important.
Reading how to use an adrenaline auto-injector is very different from having actually held a trainer pen, activated it correctly and practised what you would do
while somebody is simulating an emergency.
Policies are important — confidence is equally important
A school can write an excellent policy.
But during an emergency, somebody still has to recognise what is happening.
Somebody needs to retrieve the adrenaline.
Somebody needs to administer it.
Somebody needs to call 999.
Somebody needs to stay with and reassure that child.
That is where training makes such a difference.
As a former paramedic, I have witnessed first-hand how rapidly somebody experiencing anaphylaxis can deteriorate.
As a former foster carer, I also understand the responsibility we carry when somebody else's child has been placed in our care.
That is why this subject matters so much to me.
Your quick action could save a young life
Anaphylaxis can be frightening.
But the first-aid priorities can be kept straightforward:
RECOGNISE
Identify serious airway, breathing or circulation problems.
ADRENALINE
Use the appropriate adrenaline auto-injector promptly.
999
Call the emergency services and say “anaphylaxis.”
POSITION
Keep the pupil safely positioned and do not allow them to stand or walk around suddenly.
MONITOR
Stay with them and continue watching their airway and breathing until professional help arrives.
The introduction of stronger allergy-safety duties should help make allergy management more consistent across schools.
But ultimately, policies and equipment work best when the people expected to use them are confident and prepared.
Your quick action could save a life — and indeed, a young life.
Benedict’s Law & Anaphylaxis Training for Schools
Sussex First Aid Courses provides practical on-site allergy and anaphylaxis training for schools across Sussex and surrounding areas.
Our aim is to help schools turn policies into practical, confident emergency action.
You can find details of our dedicated Benedict’s Law School Training here:
About the author
Garry Perkins is a former paramedic with more than 35 years' experience in emergency care, a former foster carer, and the Director and Founder of Sussex
First Aid Courses Ltd.
Sussex First Aid Courses provides practical first aid, medical emergency and anaphylaxis training for schools, healthcare teams, businesses and community organisations.
Sussex First Aid Courses Ltd 0800 069 9931 info@sussexfirstaidcourses.co.uk www.sussexfirstaidcourses.co.uk
This article provides general information and does not replace Department for Education statutory guidance, an individual pupil's healthcare or allergy action plan, manufacturer instructions for adrenaline auto-injectors, medical advice or appropriate practical training.
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