In February 2026, the Government formally passed Benedict’s Law, committing to introduce mandatory, statutory allergy guidance for schools in England through the Department for Education.

Schools are now expected to take clear, demonstrable action to improve allergy awareness, prevention, and emergency response. This represents a major step toward consistent, life-saving protections in every school, not optional best practice but expected compliance for all schools in England.

From September 2026, schools are expected to implement and maintain these requirements annually across all maintained and academy schools in England.

1. Whole-School Allergy Policy

Develop and publish whole-school allergy policies. Note – allergy policy is not medical conditions policy, and it will need to be displayed on the school website

2. Staff Training

Ensure comprehensive allergy awareness and emergency response training for all staff (including caretakers, mini-bus drivers, lunchtime supervisors, etc).

3. Emergency Medication

Hold spare in-date adrenaline devices (AAIs) on site. Note – they are not a second set of devices prescribed for an individual child, they can be used on any child or adult experiencing anaphylaxis.

4. Individual Care Plans

Implement individual healthcare and action plans for pupils with serious allergies (including food, animal and venom allergies).

Click here for Allergy Safety in Schools July 2026

NOTE: This is an e Learning course so will not include practical training for the use of Adrenaline Medication (Auto Injectors and Nasal Spray) or CPR and AED training. Please contact us if you need to organise this alongside the eLearning or as a full course face to face training session instead.