What is Benedict’s Law?

Rachel Gordon

September 4, 2026

4 min read

Allergy awareness in schools is vital to keeping children with allergies safe and the consequences of inadequate allergy awareness and training can be fatal. Parents should be confident that schools are taking the necessary precautions to keep all children safe, including children with allergies. As part of their commitment to ensuring stronger protections for children with allergies in school, the government has introduced new statutory guidance that came into effect in September 2026. This guidance, known as Benedict’s Law, seeks to make schools safer for children with allergies. In this article we will outline what Benedict’s Law is, the requirements it places on schools and how schools can comply with the new guidance.

Benedict’s Law was introduced via Section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and received Royal Assent on 29th April 2026. Local authority maintained schools are now legally required to follow the mandates of Benedict’s Law and to comply with the Department for Education’s (DfE) statutory guidance, Allergy Safety in Schools.

What is Benedict’s Law?

Benedict’s Law, is an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which introduces a series of protective measures designed to improve allergy safety in schools across England. These measures require schools to have the necessary allergy policies, training and emergency medication to recognise and respond to a severe allergic reaction.

The measures were introduced following the preventable death of five-year-old Benedict Blythe in 2021. Benedict tragically died from anaphylaxis at school after mistakenly being given milk, something to which he had a known allergy. Following his death his mother, Helen Blythe, campaigned tirelessly to push for changes and improvements to measures to protect children with allergies. His family established the Benedict Blythe Foundation which seeks to address the gaps in how schools manage life-threatening allergies. Benedict’s Law is the result of their hard work and has successfully enshrined protections for children with allergies into English law.

Requirements of Benedict’s Law

Benedict’s Law introduces statutory guidance for how schools support students with medical conditions and allergies. Under the law schools are required to:

Have a whole-school standalone allergy policy that specifically sets out how they will manage allergies and respond to emergencies.
Appoint a senior member of staff to implement the allergy policy and to oversee ‘near miss’ reportings.
Provide necessary staff with training so that teachers and other members of staff who are on site at the same time as students, can recognise and respond to anaphylaxis.
Stock spare emergency adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs).
Develop an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) for pupils with allergies if their allergy has a functional impact on them in school, puts them at risk of harm and if they require additional arrangements.
Improve communication and record-keeping around allergies and allergic reactions.

The measures will apply to:

State-funded primary and secondary schools
Academies and free schools
Special schools and alternative provisions settings

These measures currently only apply to schools in England, however the Benedict Blythe Foundation continues to campaign for these measures to be extended to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. These measures do not currently apply to independent schools but the government has indicated plans to create an equivalent regulatory standard from January 2027.

Looking for More?

Allergy awareness training can save lives and is now mandatory for school staff. Our free and comprehensive Allergy & Anaphylaxis for Schools training has been created in partnership with industry experts to provide staff with life-saving knowledge and ensure your school is legally compliant.

How to Comply With Benedict’s Law

The requirements of Benedict’s Law were announced prior to its ratification in order to give schools time to prepare for the changes. This time also allowed the DfE to finish their consultation and to finalise and publish their statutory guidance for schools.

The preparatory steps that schools will have taken to comply with Benedict’s Law will continue to support a school’s legal compliance. Now that the law has come into force, schools can continue to follow the steps that they took to prepare for their new legal responsibilities. This includes:

Continuing to invest in training – Allergy training is now mandatory for all relevant school staff. Staff should receive regular training in order to ensure their allergy awareness knowledge stays up-to-date. Training should also be renewed when necessary and new staff must be trained in a timely manner. Our free Allergy and Anaphylaxis for Schools training, created in partnership with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, will provide your staff with the vital information they need to keep children with allergies safe and ensure that your school is legally compliant.

Revisiting policies – Schools are now required to have a standalone allergy policy. This means that allergies can no longer solely be covered in policies relating to broader medical conditions. Schools should continue to review and revisit policies to ensure they reflect the needs of the students with allergies and the school. A clear policy ensures that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency, how allergic reactions may present and what their individual responsibilities are. Regularly revisiting an allergy policy ensures that this information remains relevant and is easily accessible.

Checking existing information – Schools are now required to create IHPs for students who have an allergy. Schools should continue to check that the information they have on pupils with allergies is accurate. It’s important that this information is kept up-to-date and that it reflects the current needs of a pupil.

Maintaining an allergy aware culture – Allergy awareness is more than simply completing a training course and then hoping there is never an emergency. Allergy awareness should be embedded in school culture in a way that helps children feel safe and parents confident that a school is invested in their child’s safety. Building and maintaining this culture can be done in many ways such as regular staff training, assemblies on allergies and displaying helpful posters. Food allergy awareness posters can be dotted around schools, such as in school kitchens, staff rooms or classrooms, providing students and staff alike with life-saving information and important guidance. We have a wide range of food allergy awareness posters which you can download for free here.

Benedict’s death was a preventable and tragic loss. The tireless campaigning of his family has succeeded in changing how schools support children with allergies and ensures that these children have improved, life-saving protections at school. Schools have a legal obligation to adhere to the new measures in order to protect children with allergies from unnecessary harm.