What is Benedict’s Law (The Schools (Allergy Safety) Bill)

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 their 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 mandatory guidance that will come into effect from 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 prepare for the new guidance.

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What is Benedict’s Law?

The Schools (Allergy Safety) Bill, also known as 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.   

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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 will be required to:

• Have a whole-school policy setting out how they will manage allergies specifically and respond to emergencies. 
• Provide staff with training so that teachers and other members of staff can recognise and respond to anaphylaxis.
• Have access to emergency adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs).
• Develop individual healthcare or allergy plans for pupils with diagnosed allergies.
• Improve communication and record-keeping around allergies and allergic reactions. 

These requirements are expected to come into force from September 2026.

The measures will apply to:

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

From September 2026 the measures will 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. 

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How to Prepare for Benedict’s Law

The measures of Benedict’s law are expected to come into force in September 2026. This gives schools time to prepare ahead of the changes and ensure that they are legally compliant and upholding their responsibilities. It also allows time for the Department for Education to finish their consultation which will close on 1st May 2026. Once the consultation has finished the DfE will finalise and publish the revised guidance for schools.

Schools can prepare for the expected changes by:

• Investing in training – Allergy training will become mandatory for all school staff. Taking the time to train staff now can help to alleviate stress and time pressure ensuring that staff properly engage with the content. Our free Allergy and Anaphylaxis Training for Schools, 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 and/or creating policies – Under the new guidance, schools will be required to have a standalone allergy policy. This means that allergies can no longer solely be covered in policies relating to broader medical conditions. Before this becomes mandatory, schools should take the time to revisit existing policies and see what needs to be added or removed from existing policies so that it can be included in a separate allergy policy. 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. Developing a new policy now will provide schools with the time to include all necessary information and give staff and parents time to familiarise themselves with the policy.  

• Checking existing information – Schools will be required to create Individual Healthcare Plans for students who have a diagnosed allergy. In preparation for this, schools should double check the existing information they already have on pupils who have an allergy. It’s important that this information is kept up-to-date and that it accurately reflects the current needs of a pupil. Depending on the number of students with allergies this may be a sizable task for some schools, so starting early allows time for this information to be documented accurately. 

• Fostering 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 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 a school, 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. 

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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 will have a legal obligation to adhere to the new measures thereby closing the gaps which unnecessarily put children with allergies at risk.  

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Further Resources:

• Food Allergy Awareness Posters for Schools
• What Should a School Food Allergy Policy Cover?
• Allergy & Anaphylaxis Training for Schools