Source: Department for Education published on this website Friday 6 March 2026 by Jill Powell
Life-saving allergy pens must be stocked by schools for the first time under new plans announced 5 March 2026.
The move will also see compulsory training for teachers and a requirement for each school to have a dedicated allergy policy.
As well as saving lives, the new measures will help children stay in school, with 500,000 days of learning lost due to allergy-related illness or medical appointments in the last year alone.
The plans come after the government listened to families and campaigners who have fought for change — including Helen Blythe, mother of Benedict Blythe, who tragically lost his life to an allergic reaction at school, and the National Allergy Strategy Group.
Replacing previous non-statutory advice, the consultation on the new guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergies is now open, ahead of coming into force in September 2026.
The new statutory requirements mean for the first time schools must:
- stock “spare” adrenaline auto-injectors for use in emergency situations
- 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
- have a comprehensive policy for supporting children with medical conditions, including Individual Healthcare Plans to record specific arrangements for individuals like an allergy management plan
Schools up and down the country are already undertaking the necessary training to keep children safe. This guidance will standardise practise, pointing to a collection of reliable resources for teachers to use, and work in parallel to the government’s open call to businesses to support with costs such as adrenaline auto-injectors.
Olivia Bailey, Minister for Early Education said:
“No parent should have to send their child to school worried that a life-threatening allergic reaction won’t be handled swiftly. We have listened to the families and organisations who have campaigned tirelessly on this issue, and we are acting. These new requirements will give parents the confidence that every school has the training, the plans and the equipment in place to keep their child safe.”
This works hand in hand with wider work to reform the school food system, such as revising the school food standards and expanding free school meals to an additional 500,000 children this September.
Wider changes to the guidance include new condition-specific content covering a range of common and significant conditions. As epilepsy is one of the most common long-term conditions for children, Individual Healthcare Plans should cover seizure types and what to do in an emergency. And as type 1 and 2 diabetes cases in children are rising, schools must support children and young people to use continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps — including via mobile phone apps.
When health and education work together like this, it can make a real, lasting difference for children and their families.
Helen Blythe and Peter Blythe, parents of Benedict Blythe and founders of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, said:
“For 4 years, we have campaigned for Benedict’s Law so that no child faces the preventable gaps in allergy safety that cost our 5-year-old son his life.
“We are grateful the government has listened, and that from September schools will be required to have allergy pens, training and policies in place — protections that were not there when Benedict joined his school.
“Knowing that future children will enter a system far safer than the one he did is a powerful and lasting legacy for our son Benedict.”
