From September, 2026, the new statutory requirements (Benedict’s Law) for over 24,000 English Schools (nearly 2,500 in the North West of England) mean that for the first time schools must:
- have a policy for supporting children with medical conditions, including Individual Healthcare Plans to record specific arrangements like allergy management plans
- provide allergy awareness training for all staff — covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response and the use of adrenaline devices — alongside improved incident recording and lessons learnt processes
- stock “spare” adrenaline auto-injectors for use in emergency situations
What this means in practice:
- school policy on supporting children with medical conditions, not just allergies, should be discussed with school nurses
- children’s allergy HCPs should provide Allergy Management Plans for children with known allergies
- allergy awareness training for all staff — covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response and the use of adrenaline devices should be coordinated by school nurses, or via online educational platforms provided by UK patient support websites, such as AllergySchool, or anaphylaxisUK
- stocks of spare adrenaline auto-injectors should be to be organised through local pharmacies or the Local Health Authority, not GPs or allergy specialists. Click here for more information.