An amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will require all schools to follow Benedict’s Law.
On Tuesday 10th March, it was announced by the UK Government that Benedict’s Law will become law in England to make schools safer for children and young people with allergies. Minister Bailey explained that the Government will be introducing an amendment into the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This follows the Government’s announcement just a few days ago that, ‘Life-saving allergy pens must be stocked by schools’, schools should have an allergy policy, and that allergy training will be compulsory in England’s schools. The law will replace non-statutory advice for schools on allergies.
From September 2026, schools must:
- Stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) for emergency situations,
- have a comprehensive policy for support children with medical conditions,
- ensure children with medical conditions have Individual Healthcare Plans where specific arrangements for individuals such as allergy management plans should be recorded,
- provide allergy training to all staff including: their school’s policy and processes, symptoms to look out for, how to respond in an emergency, how to use adrenaline devices, and how to record incidents.
The Government also notes that schools should have ‘improved incident recording and lessons learnt processes’.
Alongside this announcement, the Government has launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen support for pupils with medical conditions and allergies in schools.
On the changes, Olivia Bailey MP, Minister for Early Education shared:
“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.”
About Benedict’s Law
Benedict’s Law was proposed by Helen and Peter Blythe, parents of Benedict, who tragically died from anaphylaxis at school. The law was proposed to address gaps in school allergy safety to better protect children through preventive measures including spare AAIs, allergy awareness and emergency response training, and a national model allergy policy. “The Bill introduces a simple, nationally consistent framework to ensure every child is protected — regardless of diagnosis, postcode, or income… It is the right law, at the right time, for the right reason: to keep children safe.”
Allergies are the most chronic childhood condition in the UK and around 680,000 pupils in England have an allergy. Despite this, there are (until the new law is written in) no statutory protections in place in schools; and worryingly, ‘allergy related child fatalities happen more in schools than any other settings’. This lack of requirement may also explain why: More than 69% of schools lack basic allergy safeguards; nearly half of schools do not have spare AAIs and a third of schools haven’t got an allergy policy.
And it isn’t just a safety issue, in the proposed bill, it was noted that they estimated 306,000 school days could be regained annually through improved attendance and that over £1.5 million could be saved in A&E and hospital admissions.
In response to the Government’s commitment to Benedict’s Law, Helen and Peter Blythe shared:
“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.”
Allergy charities and campaigners also welcomed the announcement. For example, Allergy UK shared that:
“The recognition of the importance of allergy safety by the government, through the announcement of Benedict’s Law becoming law, and through the recently announced statutory guidance being developed on “supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergy”, reflects growing awareness of the scale of the national allergy crisis.
“We are heartened by the long overdue steps being taken to better the lives of the allergic community, and Allergy UK are grateful to the government for this pivotal step forward, and to the tireless work of the Benedict Blythe foundation and its supporters in campaigning for this key work.”
Learn more:
- Stronger protections for children with allergies in school
- Government announces Benedict’s Law to become law in England
- Benedict Blythe Foundation – Benedict’s Law
References
- Allergy UK (2026) ‘Update: Government announces that Benedict’s Law to become law in England’. Available at: https://www.allergyuk.org/news/benedicts-law-2/ (Accessed: 11 March 2026)
- Gov UK (2026) ‘Press release: Stronger protections for children with allergies in school’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stronger-protections-for-children-with-allergies-in-school (Accessed: 11 March 2026)
- Benedict Blythe Foundation (2026) ‘Benedict’s Law’. Available at: https://benedictblythe.com/benedicts-law/ (Accessed: 11 March)
- Benedict Blythe Foundation (2026) ‘Benedict’s Law – The School Allergy Safety Bill. Available at: https://www.benedictblythe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BL_School_Allergy_Safety_Bill_WEB2-compressed.pdf (Accessed: 11 March)
