Benedict’s Law Allergy & Anaphylaxis Training for Schools
Prepare your staff for the new allergy safety expectations in schools with practical whole-school Allergy & Anaphylaxis Awareness Training.
From September 2026, schools in England are expected to strengthen the way they prevent, recognise and respond to allergies and anaphylaxis under the new statutory Allergy Safety in Schools guidance, commonly referred to as Benedict’s Law.
Our school-focused training helps staff understand their responsibilities, recognise allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, respond appropriately in an emergency and support a safer, allergy-aware school environment.
New for the 2026/27 academic year
DfE guidance expects whole-school allergy awareness training to be provided regularly and at least annually. All staff present while pupils are on site should receive training — and first aid training alone is not sufficient.
What is Benedict’s Law?
Benedict’s Law is the name commonly used for the new measures designed to strengthen allergy safety in schools following changes introduced through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and new Department for Education statutory guidance.
The new guidance places much greater emphasis on a whole-school approach to allergy safety.
Schools are expected to have arrangements covering:
- A dedicated allergy safety policy
- Regular allergy awareness and emergency-response training for staff
- Identification and support of pupils with allergies
- Individual Healthcare Plans where appropriate
- Access to emergency medication
- Reducing the risk of exposure to known allergens
- Recording and learning from serious incidents and near misses
- Ensuring new, supply and cover staff understand allergy arrangements
For maintained schools, academies and other settings directly covered by the statutory guidance, allergy safety should now form part of the school’s ongoing policies, training and emergency planning.
Already Have Trained First Aiders?
First aid training alone is not enough.
The Department for Education’s Allergy Safety in Schools guidance specifically states that first aid training is not sufficient to meet the allergy awareness expectation.
This is because allergy safety involves more than responding to an emergency.
Staff need to understand allergy risks, recognise different types of allergic reaction, know the school’s procedures, understand Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans, reduce exposure risks and know how to access and administer emergency medication.
Your existing First Aid, Emergency First Aid or Paediatric First Aid provision remains important — but dedicated allergy awareness training serves a different purpose.
Who Needs Allergy Awareness Training?
The statutory guidance recommends a whole-school approach.
All staff who are present while pupils are scheduled to be on site should receive allergy awareness training, including:
- Teachers
- Teaching assistants and learning support staff
- Senior leaders
- Office and administrative staff
- Lunchtime supervisors
- Catering staff
- Breakfast and after-school club staff
- Temporary and supply teachers
- Peripatetic staff
- Agency workers
- Regular volunteers
- Site or support staff with pupil-facing responsibilities
The guidance also expects schools to have arrangements for new staff induction and to ensure supply and cover staff have received appropriate allergy awareness training.
This makes the course particularly suitable for whole-school staff training, INSET days, twilight sessions and coordinated training programmes across multiple schools.
Whole-School Allergy & Anaphylaxis Awareness Training
Benedict’s Law · DfE Allergy Safety Guidance 2026
On-Site School Training:
Bespoke Group Pricing
Why Train the Whole School?
An allergic reaction can happen anywhere.
It may occur in a classroom, playground, dining hall, sports lesson, school trip or after-school club — and the nearest adult may not be one of the school’s designated first aiders.
The purpose of whole-school awareness training is to create a consistent response across the organisation so that staff understand:
This supports a school-wide culture where allergy safety is understood by the wider workforce rather than being the responsibility of only a small number of first aiders.
Call one of our training experts on 0208 402 8232 or email info@frontlinetraining.co.uk
What Will Staff Learn?
Training is designed around the key areas identified within the Department for Education’s Allergy Safety in Schools guidance, including:
Where practical training forms part of the selected delivery programme, learners can also gain hands-on experience using appropriate emergency medication training devices.
Annual Training & New Staff
The Department for Education guidance says staff should receive allergy awareness training regularly and at least annually.
Schools should also have arrangements to ensure new staff, supply staff and cover staff receive appropriate allergy awareness training.
For larger schools, academy trusts and multi-site organisations, Frontline Training can help plan a recurring training programme so that allergy awareness becomes part of your annual staff training cycle rather than a one-off exercise.
Managing several schools? Ask us about coordinated multi-site delivery.
Training for Schools, Academy Trusts & Education Groups
We can deliver training for:
- Individual primary and secondary schools
- Academies
- Special schools
- Pupil referral units and alternative provision
- Multi-Academy Trusts
- Local authority education teams
- Education charities and organisations
- Other settings wishing to adopt the same allergy-safety principles
Delivery can be planned around your school day, staff training programme, INSET arrangements or multiple sites.
Contact us with your staff numbers and locations and we’ll recommend the most efficient training approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Benedict’s Law?
Benedict’s Law is the commonly used name for new measures strengthening allergy safety in schools in England.
The changes include new Department for Education statutory guidance covering school allergy policies, staff awareness, emergency response, Individual Healthcare Plans and wider allergy-safety arrangements.
Do all school staff need allergy awareness training?
The DfE guidance says that all staff present while pupils are scheduled to be on site should receive allergy awareness training.
This includes permanent and temporary staff, supply teachers, agency workers, regular volunteers, catering staff and staff supervising breakfast or after-school clubs.
How often should allergy training be completed?
The statutory guidance says staff should receive allergy awareness training regularly, at least annually.
Schools should also make arrangements for new, supply and cover staff.
Is our existing First Aid or Paediatric First Aid training enough?
No.
First Aid and Paediatric First Aid remain important parts of a school’s emergency provision, but the DfE guidance specifically states that first aid training alone is not sufficient for the allergy awareness requirement.
Dedicated allergy awareness training covers wider areas such as allergy prevention, school policies, Individual Healthcare Plans, emergency medication, risk reduction and incident reporting.
Does Benedict’s Law apply to independent schools and nurseries?
The statutory Allergy Safety in Schools guidance currently applies directly to the school types identified by the Department for Education, including local-authority-maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units.
The Government has indicated that equivalent requirements are intended for independent schools through their regulatory standards.
The guidance can also be useful to other education and early-years settings wishing to strengthen their allergy-safety arrangements.
Can you train our whole school or academy trust?
Yes.
The course is particularly suited to group delivery, and we can discuss training for a single school, multiple staff groups or a coordinated programme across several schools within an academy trust or organisation.
Contact us with your approximate staff numbers, locations and preferred times and we’ll help you plan the most efficient approach.
“Fun but full detailed paediatric first aid.”
Niall and Sam were very informative and delivered fun but full detailed paediatric first aid. Definitely left the training much more confident to take on any situation I could be faced with in my place of work, or on the stree. Hayley McCarthy