Benedict’s Law: New Food Allergy Guidance for Schools

From this month, new mandatory statutory guidance on food allergy safety comes into force in England covering primary and secondary schools. Under the new guidance, schools will be required to have robust allergy policies, rapid emergency access to adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), spare AAIs on site, compulsory annual training on allergy and anaphylaxis for all staff, and accurate record-keeping.

The measures come after the tragic death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who had an anaphylactic reaction in school. An inquest jury found the school made a series of failures which led to his death.

What Is Benedict’s Law?

This new guidance, Benedict’s Law, has been introduced after the tireless campaigning of his parents and their supporters, including Natasha’s Foundation. Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, founder of Natasha’s Foundation, says “This legislation is overwhelmingly important to keep children safe in school, a place where they should never be in danger. Families have
called for better protection for children with food allergies in school for years, so this is a historic moment.”

School caterers are central to delivering this guidance safely and effectively. As Brad Pearce, national chair of The School Food People, says “They are on the front line of this implementation and must be well supported. Their responsibilities include maintaining accurate allergen information, managing ingredient changes, preventing cross-contamination, and ensuring meals are safely prepared and served to the correct pupil at every meal. Many school caterers already operate robust allergen management systems, but the new guidance reinforces the importance of consistency and ongoing training across all settings.”

A dedicated allergy policy is one of the most important elements. This must cover areas such as how children and young people with allergies are identified, how the school will minimise the risks of exposure to known allergens, how staff will be trained in allergy awareness and emergency response, and how individuals at risk of anaphylaxis will have access to their prescribed adrenaline devices.

Free Resources to Help Schools Comply

Allergy School, Natasha’s Foundation’s educational and training programme, has created a new training department to help schools become compliant with the new guidance. The resources, training and support are free and approved by the Department for Education. Certified training courses, policy templates, links to obtaining spare AAIs and record-keeping templates are just some of the resources provided. Tanya adds “We offer accredited and medically approved allergy and anaphylaxis training which takes one hour to complete.”

A variety of template documents are available to help schools align with the guidance, including allergy checklists, incident-recording forms, ‘near miss’ logs and training completion sheets.

Why Consistency Across the Whole School Matters

Tanya says “Schools not only need to be compliant, but they will need to demonstrate this with clear documentation. Ofsted will
consider allergy safeguarding as part of their inspections.”

Brad Pearce, national chair of The School Food People, points out that the most effective schools tend to have clear leadership responsibility, strong communication between parents, schools and caterers alongside regular staff training across the entire school, not just in the kitchens. He adds “One of the biggest challenges is ensuring consistency across the whole school day, including classrooms, trips, breakfast clubs and catering operations.”

This new legislation closes vital gaps in food allergy safety in schools. Tanya says “Schools will finally be equipped with a proper
framework to help them safeguard children with food allergies.”