Government launches consultation on statutory guidance to improve allergy safety in schools

The UK Government has launched a consultation on new statutory guidance to improve allergy safety in schools, including requirements for emergency medication, staff training and dedicated policies.

Under the proposals, schools in England would for the first time need to stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors, provide allergy awareness training for all staff and introduce comprehensive policies for managing allergies and medical conditions. The guidance is set to come into force in September 2026, replacing existing non-statutory advice.

The reforms aim to improve protection for children with life-threatening allergies while reducing disruption to learning. Allergy-related illness and medical appointments caused around 500,000 lost school days last year.

The plans follow campaigning by families and organisations including the National Allergy Strategy Group and Helen Blythe, whose five-year-old son Benedict died after suffering an allergic reaction at school. Last month, peers in the House of Lords passed a landmark amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as part of the campaign for “Benedict’s Law”, aimed at strengthening protections for children with allergies in schools.

Schools will also need to maintain policies supporting pupils with medical conditions, including Individual Healthcare Plans outlining arrangements such as allergy management plans, alongside improved incident recording and lessons learned processes.

Olivia Bailey, Minister for Early Education, said:

No parent should have to send their child to school worried that a life-threatening allergic reaction won’t be handled swiftly.

We have listened to the families and organisations who have campaigned tirelessly on this issue, and we are acting. These new requirements will give parents the confidence that every school has the training, the plans and the equipment in place to keep their child safe.”

Wider reforms to school health and food systems

The government has issued an open call to businesses to help support costs associated with the changes, including the supply of adrenaline auto-injectors. The reforms also sit alongside wider plans to revise school food standards and extend free school meals to an additional 500,000 children from September.

Updated guidance will also include new advice on supporting pupils with other medical conditions, including epilepsy and diabetes, and the use of technologies such as continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps.

Dr Zubir Ahmed, Health Innovation and Safety Minister, said:

Every child deserves to feel safe and supported at school, regardless of their medical needs.

Allergies and other conditions affect hundreds of thousands of children across England, and it is right that we give schools the tools, training and clear guidance they need to respond confidently in an emergency. When health and education work together like this, it can make a real, lasting difference for children and their families.”

Helen Blythe and Peter Blythe, parents of Benedict Blythe and founders of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, added:

For four years, we have campaigned for Benedict’s Law so that no child faces the preventable gaps in allergy safety that cost our five-year-old son his life.

We are grateful the Government has listened, and that from September schools will be required to have allergy pens, training and policies in place – protections that were not there when Benedict joined his school. Knowing that future children will enter a system far safer than the one he did is a powerful and lasting legacy for our son Benedict.”

The consultation on the updated statutory guidance is now open, with the government aiming to introduce the new requirements from September 2026.