Statutory guidance on managing allergies in schools has been published by the UK Government ahead of its implementation on 1 September. In this AdviceONLINE article, Jake Wiid explains what the new DfE guidance contains and how it applies to educational visits.
Allergy Safety in Schools – final guidance
Need to know
Statutory guidance on managing allergies in schools has been published by the UK Government ahead of its implementation on 1 September. It includes guidance on educational visits off the school site. Inclusion, safety and training are key elements:
Schools must not ‘prevent children from participating or create unnecessary barriers to external visits and trips’ e.g by requiring parents to attend to help manage a child’s allergy.
Schools must undertake a risk assessment for any child or young person at risk of anaphylaxis taking part in a trip off the premises.
Schools must have a dedicated allergy safety policy, separate from their general medical conditions policy - make sure this includes reference to educational visits.
All staff must be trained in allergy and anaphylaxis. This training must go beyond basic first aid training and should include understanding allergy, how to reduce risk, recognising and responding to allergic reactions and supporting the wellbeing of pupils with allergies.
All schools must purchase spare adrenaline devices (these must be held in addition to pupils having their own prescribed devices) - decisions on whether to take spare adrenaline devices on visits must be risk assessed by the school.
Statutory guidance on managing allergies in schools has been published by the UK Government ahead of its implementation on 1 September
The new guidance, Allergy Safety in Schools implements Benedict’s Law, introducing a consistent national framework for allergy safety in schools.
Benedict’s Law aims to ensure that children with allergies can participate in school life fully and safely, and that staff have the knowledge and tools to respond quickly when emergencies occur. Importantly, the guidance makes these protections part of the legal framework governing all schools in England.
The guidance is largely similar to the previous draft, with some notable differences i.e. the requirement to have a named governor responsible for allergy safety has been replaced with the Governing Body.
What does the guidance say?
Under the guidance, schools must produce and publish a school allergy policy – this should be in place by September when the requirements come into effect. Schools will need to have a named allergy lead, train staff on allergy management and emergency response, and have spare adrenaline devices on site. This is the first part of wider guidance on ‘Supporting Children and Young People with Medical Conditions and Allergy’ to be finalised.
In addition, schools must produce an allergy action plan for children with known allergies and, where an individual needs active allergy management, they should have an IHP – an Individual Health Plan. The IHP should include a section on visits and trips, specifically:
“Give details of any arrangements or procedures which may be required for school trips or other activities outside of the normal timetable that will ensure the child can participate. Note any requirement for a risk assessment and prompts for specific issues which should be considered.”
The DfE Allergy Safety in Schools guidance includes templates for IHPs and school allergy policies.
Why has statutory allergy guidance been introduced?
Allergy is common, serious and potentially life-threatening in school settings. According to the Benedict Blythe Foundation:
Around two children in every class have an allergy
Schools are one of the most common locations for severe allergic reactions outside the home
Up to 30% of severe reactions occur in children with no prior diagnosis
As well as saving lives, the new measures will help children stay in school and participate in activities beyond the classroom. 500,000 days of learning were lost due to allergy-related illness or medical appointments in 2024 (Benedict Blythe Foundation).
It’s not just about nuts
As advisers we hear about allergy incidents in and out of school. In one such example, a child had a severe allergic reaction to the ingredients in the paint that was used to redecorate their classroom over the summer. The room had been painted weeks previously and fully ventilated, but the child was taken severely ill within minutes of coming back to class after the summer.
Would you recognise the signs?
Who needs to follow the guidance?
This is statutory guidance for state-funded, compulsory school age settings, i.e.:
maintained schools, including special schools but excluding maintained nursery schools
PRUs
academies, including free schools and alternative provision academies (but excluding 16–19 academies)
It isn’t currently a requirement for independent schools or non-maintained special schools but the Government intends to introduce equivalent allergy safety measures via the relevant regulatory standards. As with other similar guidance, educational settings of all types should have regard to this guidance when assessing their approach to allergy safety. Other bodies such as Local Authorities will also want to ensure their policies are in line with this guidance.
image: Land & Wave School Trips
What does the allergy guidance mean for educational visits?
Good allergy management doesn’t stop at the school gate. Allergy Safety in Schools includes guidance on allergy safety on educational visits, stating:
“Schools, colleges and early years settings should conduct a risk assessment for any child or young person at risk of anaphylaxis taking part in a trip off the premises.”
Under the guidance, schools should have spare adrenaline devices on site to use in an allergy emergency, e.g. a first time anaphylactic reaction or in case of a missing or faulty device. The guidance advises schools to risk assess the need for taking spare adrenaline devices on a visit:
“Children and young people at risk of anaphylaxis should have their own adrenaline device with them, and there should be staff trained to administer adrenaline in an emergency. Schools, colleges and settings may wish to consider whether it may be appropriate, under some circumstances, to take “spare” adrenaline devices in case of emergency use on some trips. However, this should not cause a lack of “spare” adrenaline devices on school/college premises”
The guidance also places an important emphasis on staff training, which is compulsory for all staff. Staff should be trained in allergy awareness and how to respond in an allergy emergency.
Inclusion is a key driver for this guidance. Schools must not ‘prevent children from participating or create unnecessary barriers to external visits and trips’ e.g by requiring parents to attend to help manage a child’s allergy.
Reduce the risk
As advisers we hear about allergy incidents in and out of school. In a tragic situation on a school trip, a teacher attempted to keep a child’s packed lunch ‘safe’ from being confused with others by keeping it in their own bag. They mistakenly gave their own sandwiches to this child who had a severe food allergy and subsequently died as a result of anaphylaxis.
How will you manage food separation and identification on your visit?
What do I need to know or do for my educational visits?
In addition to the governance and practical measures for your school site, you should also review your educational visits processes in line with the guidance. Here are the key areas to action.
For a full list of actions, download our Allergy Safety on Educational Visits Checklist, here.
Review your educational visits policy* to ensure it aligns with the guidance.
Review your allergy policy* to ensure it includes what you will do to ensure allergy safety when off the school site.
*EVOLVE Advice clients can use our suggested wording to help you update your own policies.In your visit risk assessment, you must include how you will manage allergy risk for that specific visit and that individual child/staff member (noting the allergy will not be enough).
Share medical (including allergy) and dietary needs with providers and venues well in advance.
Share IHPs with relevant members of your visit team – they need to know this information.
You must investigate and share learnings from all near misses and serious incidents. Use your current accident/incident reporting system e.g. EVOLVE accident book.
Remember allergies are not exclusively food-related. You may have a child with an unknown allergy that would be almost impossible to predict. Train your team on recognising and responding to an allergy emergency on and off the school site.
What support is there to help us implement the new allergy guidance?
The DfE guidance, Allergy Safety in Schools, includes template policies and documents to help you prepare. Organisations such as Anaphylaxis UK, Allergy UK and The Allergy Team offer specialised training for teachers – the latter also offers training for Designated Allergy Leads and will work with you to audit your school processes and identify areas for action.
At EVOLVE Advice we have produced free resources to support with allergy safety on educational visits. Visit our allergu safty toolkit to download the documents.
A Checklist for Allergy Safety on Educational Visits
Template allergy safety wording for your educational visits policy
Template educational visits wording for your allergy policy
We are working with The Allergy Team to develop an e-learning course to provide guidance on how to follow the guidance in school and when out and about on educational visits.
Speak with your Educational Visits Adviser for support with allergy safety risk assessment and inclusion. EVOLVE Advice clients should email advice@evolveadvice.co.uk or use our live chat option on the website.
Further Reading
DfE Guidance Allergy Safety in Schools
OEAP National Guidance 6o FAQs Allergy and anaphylaxis
This publication is a general summary of guidance. It should not replace advice tailored to your specific circumstances. ©️EVOLVE Advice 2026
If you’d like further support on this issue, or advice on other aspects related to educational visits, speak to your Educational Visits Adviser.