New mandatory allergy safety guidance will cover school trips

Announced in the House of Lords by the Minister of State for Education, The Rt Hon. the Baroness Smith of Malvern, the policy will “transform allergy safety in schools”. 

Baroness Smith said: “Schools need to be conscious and active in managing the risk of allergy.

“Pupils with allergies must be fully included in the life of the school with arrangements to support them on external trips and visits. A school’s allergy safety arrangements need to be managed actively.”

It follows campaigning by several parents and takes forward the Benedict’s Law campaign which was set up following the death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe who died from anaphylaxis at school in 2021 after being mistakenly given milk, to which he had a known allergy.

Baroness Smith paid tribute to campaigners and said: “Our guidance will be clear that every child whose medical condition requires active management by their school should have an individaul healthcare plan and this includes allergies. 

“We will require schools to have a dedicated allergy safety policy. It will emphasise the importance of whole school awareness and look at training for all staff.” 

The new guidance will come into force by September with a Government consultation carried out “imminently”. 

Allergy charity welcomes the announcement

Describing it as a “truly historic moment”, the UK’s food allergy charity, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said on its website: “This guidance will require schools to have robust allergy policies, trained staff, and access to emergency medication, protections that allergy families have been calling for for years.

“It is tragic that it has taken the loss of a child and the tireless campaigning of a mother for real change to happen, but today Benedict’s legacy is a victory for every child with allergies.”

They said it was a “major step away from the postcode lottery that has left too many families exposed to avoidable risk”.