Benedict’s Law: What schools need to know ahead of September 2026

• What is Benedict’s Law?
• Why was Benedict’s Law introduced?
• Which schools does the statutory guidance apply to?
• What must schools do now the guidance is published?
• What should an allergy safety policy cover?
• What further requirements are coming through future regulations?
• How should schools manage Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans?
• How should schools manage spare adrenaline auto-injectors?
• What does this mean for staff training?
• What should schools do now?
• How can iHasco help schools comply with Benedict’s Law?

The Department for Education (DfE) published the statutory guidance for Benedict’s Law, titled Allergy Safety in Schools, on 6 July 2026, a milestone that many school leaders and allergy families have been waiting years for.

From September 2026, local authority maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units (PRUs) in England have a statutory duty to have a dedicated allergy safety policy, publish it, and have regard to this guidance when producing and reviewing it.

The statutory guidance includes key points that should be included in an allergy safety policy, such as mandatory staff training and stocking spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs).

This article walks through what’s changed since the guidance was published, which schools it applies to, what you need to have in place already, and what’s worth getting ahead of next.

Key takeaways

• What is Benedict’s Law? The name given to reforms requiring schools in England to manage allergy risk formally, introduced via section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
• When did the statutory guidance come out? 6 July 2026, published by the DfE as Allergy Safety in Schools.
• When does the duty apply from? September 2026.
• Who must comply now? Local authority-maintained schools (excluding maintained nursery schools), academies (including free schools, excluding 16–19 academies), and PRUs.
• What’s mandatory right now? Having a dedicated, published allergy safety policy and having regard to the statutory guidance.
• Are independent schools covered? Not yet. The Government intends to apply equivalent requirements to independent schools and non-maintained special schools through separate regulatory standards.

What is Benedict’s Law?

Benedict’s Law is the name given to a set of reforms that make allergy safety a formal, whole-school responsibility in England, rather than a matter of individual school policy. It was introduced through section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. Section 34 amends section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the existing law that requires schools to support pupils with medical conditions, by adding a specific duty to have, publish and keep under review an allergy safety policy.

On 6 July 2026, the DfE published the statutory guidance that sits underneath this duty: Allergy Safety in Schools. This is the first time allergy safety has been given its own statutory framework, separate from the wider guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions

Why was Benedict’s Law introduced?

Benedict’s Law is named after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old boy who tragically died in December 2021 after a severe allergic reaction to cow’s milk at his primary school, an allergy the school was aware of. It’s a heartbreaking story, and one his parents have worked hard to turn into lasting change.

Alongside the Benedict Blythe Foundation and allergy charities including Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis UK, they campaigned for several years for allergy safety to become a statutory requirement rather than optional good practice, and that persistence is a big part of why this guidance now exists.

The statutory guidance itself notes that around one in five children and young people with an allergy have their first allergic reaction while at school. That’s exactly why the guidance asks every member of staff to be able to recognise and respond to a reaction, not just the ones who already know which pupils have a diagnosed allergy.

Which schools does the statutory guidance apply to?

The guidance is statutory, meaning schools must “have regard to” it, for:

• governing bodies of local-authority-maintained schools, including special schools, but excluding maintained nursery schools
• management committees of pupil referral units (PRUs)
• proprietors of academies, including free schools and alternative provision academies, but excluding 16–19 academies

Independent schools (including independent special schools) and non-maintained special schools are not currently covered by the statutory duty. The Government has confirmed it intends to introduce equivalent allergy safety requirements for these settings through the Independent School Standards and Non-Maintained Special School Regulations, and the guidance will be updated once that happens.

Early years settings, further education colleges, and 16–19 academies are not required to follow the guidance, but the DfE says it will be useful to them as good practice, alongside their existing duties under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and other safeguarding legislation

What must schools do now the guidance is published?

From September 2026, schools within scope have a statutory duty to:

• have a dedicated allergy safety policy, kept separate from their wider medical conditions policy
• publish that policy on the school’s website and make it available to parents and staff
• have regard to the DfE’s statutory guidance when producing and reviewing the policy

“Have regard to” means schools need to take the guidance into account and give it careful, genuine consideration; if you decide not to follow a specific part of it, that decision should be backed by a clear, justifiable reason. It’s not about box-ticking, it’s about being able to show your thinking.

It’s also worth knowing that Ofsted inspectors will consider a school’s allergy safety policy, and how well it’s put into practice, as part of the evidence they gather on safeguarding.

What should an allergy safety policy cover?

The statutory guidance sets out the areas the DfE expects an allergy safety policy to address:

• Awareness training – how staff will be trained in allergy awareness and emergency response, for both anaphylaxis and acute asthma
• Wellbeing – how the wellbeing of pupils with allergy will be supported, and how allergy-related bullying will be recognised and addressed
• Minimising risk – how the school will take reasonable steps to reduce exposure to known allergens
• Food allergy management – how the school will manage food allergy risk and provide clear allergen information
• Identification – how the school will identify pupils, staff and visitors with allergy, particularly food allergy and asthma
• Individual Healthcare Plans – how pupils needing additional or different support will have this recorded in an IHP
• Prescribed adrenaline – how pupils at risk of anaphylaxis will have access to their prescribed adrenaline devices
• Spare adrenaline devices – how spare AAIs and asthma inhalers will be stocked, stored, used and kept in date
• Visits and trips – how pupils with allergy will be able to take part in trips and off-site activities safely
• Serious incidents and near misses – how these will be recorded and how information from parents will be considered
• Information sharing – how information about pupils with allergy will be shared with relevant staff
• Policy awareness – how the policy will be communicated to staff, pupils and parents, and published

A named member of the senior leadership team should take responsibility for driving and reviewing the policy. The guidance is clear that this shouldn’t sit with a catering manager by default. Where a school is part of a trust, the trust holds overall responsibility as the governing body, but it’s worth making sure each academy has its own named allergy safety lead so pupils aren’t relying on decisions made several steps removed from their classroom.

What further requirements are coming through future regulations?

Several measures that some early reporting described as immediately mandatory are, in the published guidance, described as expected practice now and future statutory requirements once regulations are introduced. The Government has confirmed it intends to bring in regulations requiring schools to:

• provide regular (at least annual) allergy awareness training to all staff who are present when pupils are on site, including supply staff, agency workers and regular volunteers
• stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergency use
• appoint a named senior leader responsible for allergy safety
• review their allergy safety policy at least annually, and after any serious incident or near miss
• publish their allergy safety policy and raise awareness of it with pupils, staff and parents
• record serious incidents and near misses relating to allergy safety

Until these regulations come into force, the guidance treats each of these as strong expectations schools should already be working towards, rather than a free-standing legal requirement. If you’re already doing some of this, great, you’re ahead of the curve. If you’re not there yet, you’re not out of time, but it’s worth starting now rather than waiting for the regulations to force the issue.

How should schools manage Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans?

An Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) is not a clinical document; think of it as the school’s own plan for keeping a specific pupil safe and included, day to day and in an emergency. It should be drawn up in collaboration with the pupil and their parents, so everyone’s on the same page.

A child should have an IHP if their allergy has a functional impact at school, puts them at risk of harm, and requires support that goes beyond what’s offered generally. Not every pupil with an allergy needs one, for example, a pupil with mild hay fever who can self-manage with over-the-counter antihistamines may not require an IHP.

An Allergy Action Plan is a separate, clinical document issued by a healthcare professional. It gives step-by-step instructions for responding to a reaction, including anaphylaxis, and should be attached to the pupil’s IHP rather than duplicated within it. Pupils with asthma should be issued an Asthma Action Plan in the same way, since food allergy and asthma commonly overlap and can present with similar breathing symptoms.

For example, under the guidance, a secondary school pupil with a severe food allergy and a history of anaphylaxis would have an IHP that records his known allergens, sets out how the school will reduce his exposure to them, and refers to their separately issued Allergy Action Plan and prescribed adrenaline devices. A pupil with an egg allergy but no history of anaphylaxis, who has only been prescribed antihistamine, would still have an IHP recording their allergen and the school’s response plan, even without a history of severe reactions.

How should schools manage spare adrenaline auto-injectors?

Schools (though not early years settings or FE colleges) are permitted to buy spare AAIs without a prescription under the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017, for use in a genuine emergency, including for a pupil, staff member or visitor having a first, previously undiagnosed reaction. The guidance recommends spare AAIs are stocked in pairs, by dosage:

• State-funded nursery school, one pair of spare AAIs under age 6 (150mcg); not applicable for the 6+ dose
• Primary school, one pair under age 6 (150mcg) and one pair for age 6+ (300mcg)
• Secondary school, not applicable for the under-6 dose; one or two pairs for age 6+ (300mcg), depending on site size
• Special school, one pair under age 6 (150mcg) and one pair for age 6+ (300mcg)

Spare AAIs must be stored at room temperature, kept accessible rather than locked away, and clearly labelled to avoid confusion with a pupil’s own prescribed device. The expectation is that adrenaline should reach a pupil in anaphylaxis within five minutes of the reaction starting, which may mean larger secondary schools need more than one storage point.

Currently, only AAIs (not nasal adrenaline sprays) can be bought as spare devices. If a pupil is prescribed a nasal adrenaline device but it isn’t available, a school’s spare AAIs can be used instead.

What does this mean for staff training?

The guidance is clear that first aid training on its own isn’t enough, and that allergy safety needs its own dedicated focus. Whole-school allergy awareness training should help staff recognise the range of allergic reactions, understand anaphylaxis specifically, know how to call emergency services, and administer adrenaline. It should also cover the overlap between asthma and anaphylaxis, and how to report an incident or near miss.

Every member of staff needs this training, including catering staff, minibus drivers and supervisors at breakfast and after-school clubs, because in an emergency, it could be any one of them who’s first on the scene.

What should schools do now?

A little momentum now will save a lot of scrambling later. Here’s where we’d suggest starting:

• Publish a dedicated allergy safety policy, separate from the medical conditions policy, ahead of September 2026
• Name a senior leader to own allergy safety, even though this isn’t yet a stand-alone legal requirement
• Review which pupils need an Individual Healthcare Plan and check plans reference the correct Allergy or Asthma Action Plan
• Check spare AAI stock against pupil dosage needs and expiry dates
• Book allergy awareness training for all staff who have contact with pupils, not only first aiders
• Update food and catering processes to reflect the 14 major allergens covered by the Food Information Regulations 2014
• Set up a clear process for recording and reviewing serious incidents and near misses, so lessons are captured even before this becomes a separate statutory duty

How can iHasco help schools comply with Benedict’s Law?

We know this is a lot to take in on top of everything else on a school leader’s plate, so we’ve made sure our training keeps pace with the guidance.

iHasco’s Anaphylaxis & Allergy Training for Schools & Carers course has been updated to the DfE’s Allergy Safety in Schools statutory guidance (July 2026) and reviewed by Anaphylaxis UK, so your staff are learning what’s expected of them, from a course that’s been checked by allergy specialists.

The updated course covers:

• the whole-school allergy safety policy and how it should be used alongside pupil-specific plans
• the difference between an Individual Healthcare Plan and an Allergy Action Plan
• recognising allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, including the overlap between asthma and anaphylaxis
• the safe use, storage and access of prescribed and spare adrenaline auto-injectors
• allergen management in food and catering, covering the 14 major allergens
• allergy risk across the school day, including trips, clubs, sport and exams
• incident recording and learning from near misses
• supporting the emotional wellbeing and inclusion of pupils with allergy

Check out all training courses for education settings here. We’re always happy to help you find the right fit for your school.

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Quick answers

What is Benedict’s Law?

Benedict’s Law refers to reforms introduced through section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, requiring schools in England to have a dedicated, published allergy safety policy. It’s named after Benedict Blythe, who died in 2021 following an allergic reaction at school.

When does Benedict’s Law come into force?

The statutory duty to have an allergy safety policy applies from September 2026. The DfE published the underlying statutory guidance, Allergy Safety in Schools, on 6 July 2026.

Which schools have to follow the statutory guidance?

LA-maintained schools (including special schools, but not maintained nursery schools), academies (including free schools, but not 16–19 academies), and pupil referral units. Independent schools and non-maintained special schools aren’t covered yet, though the Government plans to bring in equivalent requirements later.

Do schools have to stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors?

Schools are permitted to stock spare AAIs now, and the guidance expects them to. Stocking spare AAIs is not yet a separate stand-alone legal duty, though the Government intends to make it one through forthcoming regulations.

Is allergy awareness training compulsory for all staff?

The guidance expects all staff present when pupils are on site to receive regular allergy awareness training, going beyond general first aid training. This becomes a statutory requirement once the Government’s forthcoming regulations are introduced; in the meantime, it’s treated as an expectation under the current guidance.

What’s the difference between an Individual Healthcare Plan and an Allergy Action Plan?

An Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) is written by the school and sets out the practical support arrangements for a specific pupil. An Allergy Action Plan is a clinical document issued by a healthcare professional, giving step-by-step emergency response instructions, and is attached to the pupil’s IHP rather than duplicated within it.

Does Benedict’s Law apply to independent schools?

Not yet. The DfE’s July 2026 statutory guidance applies to LA-maintained schools, academies and PRUs. The Government has confirmed it intends to introduce equivalent requirements for independent schools and non-maintained special schools through separate regulatory standards.

How many adrenaline auto-injectors should a pupil carry?

Clinical advice recommends that anyone at risk of anaphylaxis carries two prescribed adrenaline devices at all times, since a second dose may be needed if there’s no improvement within five minutes of the first.