Benedict’s Law: What Does It Mean for Schools?

For schools across England, September 2026 marks an important change in the way allergy safety is approached.

New statutory requirements mean schools must have clear arrangements in place to support pupils with allergies, including an allergy safety policy, allergy awareness training for staff, appropriate emergency arrangements and processes for learning from serious incidents and near misses. 

You may have heard these changes referred to as Benedict’s Law.

But what does that actually mean for your school?

And perhaps more importantly, what does it mean for the people who are there every day looking after children?

Why has Benedict’s Law been introduced?

Benedict’s Law is named after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old boy who tragically died following an allergic reaction at school.

His family, alongside allergy organisations and campaigners, spent years calling for stronger and more consistent allergy safety measures in schools. The resulting legislation and statutory guidance introduce new requirements intended to give schools clearer responsibilities and better preparation for managing allergies and anaphylaxis. 

The changes are important because an allergic reaction does not wait for the right member of staff to be nearby.

It could happen:

• In a classroom,
• At lunchtime,
• On the playground,
• During a school trip, Or
• Somewhere else entirely.

That means allergy safety cannot simply be the responsibility of one first aider, one teacher or one member of the pastoral team.

The people around a child need to understand what they are seeing and know what to do.

That is where the new requirements around staff training become particularly important.

What does Benedict’s Law mean for schools?

The new statutory guidance sets out a number of responsibilities for schools in England.

These include having an allergy safety policy, providing allergy awareness training for all staff, identifying pupils who need an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) to manage their allergy, and having processes for recording and learning from serious incidents and near misses. 

Schools must also have arrangements for emergency situations, including the use of adrenaline auto-injectors where appropriate.

The aim is not simply to create another policy that sits on a website or in a staff handbook.

The aim is to make sure that allergy safety becomes part of how a school operates.

That distinction matters.

A policy can explain what should happen.

Training helps people understand why it matters and what to do when it matters most.

Allergy awareness is everyone’s responsibility

One of the biggest changes for schools is the move towards wider allergy awareness across the whole staff team.

This makes sense.

If a child has an allergic reaction, the first person to recognise that something is wrong may not be the school’s designated first aider.

It could be:

• A teaching assistant,
• A lunchtime supervisor,
• A receptionist,
• A sports coach,
• A member of the catering team,
• A teacher on a school trip.

They do not necessarily need to become allergy specialists.

But they do need to understand the basics.

They need to know what an allergic reaction can look like.

They need to recognise when a reaction could be becoming anaphylaxis.

And they need to understand that anaphylaxis is a medical emergency where rapid action matters.

The DfE guidance specifically requires schools to put allergy awareness training in place for all staff, covering areas such as recognising symptoms, emergency response and the use of adrenaline devices. 

What should schools be thinking about?

Benedict’s Law is not simply about completing a training course.

Training is one part of a wider approach to allergy safety.

Schools should be considering how their arrangements work in practice.

For example:

• Do we have a clear and accessible allergy safety policy?
• Do staff understand their responsibilities?
• Do staff know how to recognise the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction?
• Would staff know what to do if they suspected a child was experiencing anaphylaxis?
• Are Individual Healthcare Plans in place for pupils who need them?
• Are appropriate emergency arrangements in place?
• Do staff understand how adrenaline auto-injectors are used?
• Are allergy arrangements considered during school trips, activities and other situations away from the classroom?
• Do we record serious incidents and near misses and use them to improve our arrangements?
• Can our staff respond confidently rather than having to work out what to do during an emergency?

These questions are useful because they move the conversation away from

“Have we complied?”

and towards:

“Would our people know what to do?”

That is the question that really matters when a child is having an allergic reaction.

Why training matters

There is a difference between having information and being prepared.

Most people understand that anaphylaxis can be serious.

But understanding the word anaphylaxis is not the same as being able to recognise it in front of you.

In an emergency, people need to be able to make sense of what they are seeing, understand the urgency and follow the appropriate emergency procedures.

That confidence comes from preparation.

Good training does more than provide facts. It helps people understand the why behind the response.

Why symptoms need to be taken seriously.

Why anaphylaxis is an emergency.

Why adrenaline is important.

Why having clear arrangements matters.

And why every member of staff has a role to play in creating a safer environment for children with allergies.

It’s about more than one child

It can be tempting to think of allergy safety as something that applies only to pupils who already have a diagnosed allergy.

But schools need to think more broadly.

The DfE guidance highlights that some children experience their first allergic reaction while in an education setting.

That means a school cannot rely solely on knowing which children have allergies.

Staff need a level of awareness that allows them to recognise a potential allergic reaction even when there is no existing allergy plan immediately in front of them.

This is why whole-school awareness matters.

It is also why allergy safety needs to be part of everyday school culture rather than something considered only when a particular pupil starts at the school.

What does good preparation look like?

Good preparation should make things clearer, not more complicated.

Staff should understand what is expected of them.

Schools should have clear policies and processes.

Pupils with known allergies should have appropriate individual arrangements.

Emergency equipment and procedures should be considered carefully.

And staff should have the knowledge and confidence to respond appropriately if something goes wrong.

None of this removes the need for professional medical advice or individual healthcare planning.

Instead, it helps create the environment around those arrangements — an environment where people understand their responsibilities and are prepared to act.

Introducing our new allergy and anaphylaxis qualification

For schools looking to strengthen their staff knowledge and meet the need for appropriate allergy awareness training, we have introduced the Qualsafe Level 3 Award in Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness (RQF).

The qualification provides learners with knowledge and understanding around allergies, anaphylaxis and appropriate emergency responses.

It is designed to help give staff the confidence to recognise the risks, understand why anaphylaxis needs an urgent response and know what action should be taken within their role.

Being prepared when it matters

Benedict’s Law represents an important change for schools.

But behind every policy, every training record and every procedure is something much more important:

a child who may one day need someone to know what to do.

That is why allergy awareness matters.

It is about recognising the signs.

Understanding why a rapid response matters.

Knowing where to turn for help.

And having the confidence to act when every second counts.

Because you cannot predict when an allergic reaction will happen.

But you can prepare for it.

And when a child needs the adults around them to know what to do, that preparation can make all the difference.

That is the difference training can make.