Benedict’s Law: What Schools Need to Know Before September 2026

In December 2021, five-year-old Benedict Blythe died from anaphylaxis after being given milk at his primary school, despite a known allergy. His mother, Helen Blythe, has said the family spent the next four years campaigning for change¹. That campaign, known as Benedict’s Law, has now produced the most significant overhaul of school allergy guidance since 2015.

Allergic reactions at school are not rare events. Around 2 to 5% of children in the UK live with a diagnosed food allergy, meaning many schools, and many classrooms, will include pupils with allergy needs, and as many as 20% of serious allergic reactions to food happen while a child is at school, sometimes in pupils with no previous diagnosis at all².

From September 2026, schools in England face new statutory expectations covering allergy policy, staff training and emergency medication. Some of this is already settled. Some of it is still being finalised. This article sets out what’s confirmed, what isn’t yet, and what school leaders, governors and business managers can do now, across early years settings, primary and secondary schools, and colleges.

What is Benedict’s Law?

Benedict’s Law is not a single Act of Parliament. It is the public name for a package of statutory changes that require schools in England to manage allergy risk through formal policy, mandatory training and emergency medication, rather than treating it as discretionary good practice.

The change has come through two related routes. First, the Department for Education is rewriting the statutory guidance issued under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the duty schools already operate under for pupils with medical conditions^3,4,5. Second, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, goes further than guidance alone. It inserts a new Section 100A into the Children and Families Act 2014, putting a standalone allergy safety policy duty onto the statute book for maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units, including a duty to review the policy at least annually and publicise it within the school community and on the school’s website. The Department for Education’s published implementation timetable remains September 2026, when the updated statutory guidance and the practical school requirements are expected to take effect. The Act also commits the Secretary of State to extending an equivalent policy duty to non-maintained special schools and independent schools through future regulations, although those regulations have not yet been made⁶. Together, these put the core aims of Benedict’s Law into both primary legislation and statutory guidance.

The legal duty schools already have

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 already requires the ‘appropriate authority’ for a school, meaning the governing body of a maintained school, the proprietor of an academy, or the management committee of a pupil referral unit, to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and to have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State⁵. This duty has applied since 1 September 2014. It is not new.

What is new is the guidance issued under that duty. The current statutory guidance dates back to December 2015 and runs to 29 pages. The draft replacement, out for consultation in spring 2026, runs to 122 pages⁴. That difference in length reflects a far more detailed and prescriptive set of expectations, including, for the first time, a standalone allergy safety policy separate from the school’s general medical conditions policy. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has already put that standalone duty onto the statute book, on top of the existing Section 100 duty, with the Department for Education’s implementation timetable pointing to September 2026 for the practical requirements to take effect⁶.

What schools should prepare by September 2026

The Department for Education has confirmed core requirements that will apply to schools in England for the first time¹. The draft statutory guidance is more specific still: every school should have a named governor and a named senior leader responsible for its medical conditions policy, and the same again for its allergy safety policy³. The same governor and senior leader may be able to hold responsibility for both policies, unless the final guidance says otherwise. Beyond that named accountability, schools will need:

• A published, dedicated allergy safety policy, reviewed regularly and separate from the school’s general medical conditions policy
• Spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) stocked for emergency use, for pupils whose own device is not available or has expired
• Allergy awareness training for all staff, covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response, and the correct use of adrenaline devices
• Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs) for any pupil whose medical condition means the school needs to put specific support arrangements in place, including pupils still awaiting a formal diagnosis where support is already needed, alongside improved incident recording and lessons learnt processes

The wider guidance review goes beyond allergy. Because epilepsy is one of the most common long-term conditions among children, Individual Healthcare Plans are expected to cover seizure types and emergency response in more detail. As type 1 and type 2 diabetes become more common in children, schools will also be expected to support pupils using continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps, including via mobile phone apps^1,3.

None of this is new clinical territory. NICE guidance continues to recommend referral to a specialist allergy service after emergency treatment for suspected anaphylaxis, and NICE published its own quality standard on food allergy back in 2016^7,8. What Benedict’s Law changes is not the underlying clinical advice, but the level of obligation schools are now under to act on it consistently.

At the time of writing, the final version of the guidance has not been published. Schools should treat the draft as a strong planning basis, but revisit their policy once the final statutory guidance is released.

When does Benedict’s Law come into force?

The core measures are due to come into force from September 2026. The consultation on the draft guidance, Proposal on support for pupils with medical conditions at school, ran from 5 March to 15 May 2026, having been extended by two weeks from its original closing date⁴. Publication of the final statutory guidance is expected before the start of the new academic year.

Schools should not wait for that publication before starting preparation. The core requirements, an allergy policy, staff training, spare AAIs and Individual Healthcare Plans, are settled in direction even where the fine detail of formats and specifications is not yet confirmed.

Does Benedict’s Law apply to my school?

Yes, but the legal route is not identical for every type of setting, so it is worth being precise.

For maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units, the position is clearest: the underlying Section 100 duty already applies directly, and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has put a standalone legal requirement for a published allergy safety policy onto the statute book for them, separate from the wider ‘have regard to’ duty around the statutory guidance itself. The Department for Education’s published implementation timetable remains September 2026 for the practical requirements to take effect^5,6.

For non-maintained special schools and independent schools, the same Act commits the Secretary of State to extending an equivalent allergy safety policy duty to them, through amendments to their own existing regulatory frameworks. Those regulations have not yet been made, so this is a duty that is legislatively guaranteed to arrive, but is not yet in force⁶.

For early years settings, colleges and post-16 institutions, the position is different again. The draft statutory guidance is not itself a new statutory duty for these settings. Instead, it is recommended as good practice to help them meet other statutory duties they already have, including safeguarding duties, the duty of care under the Children Act 1989, health and safety duties as an employer, the Equality Act 2010, and, for early years specifically, the Early Years Foundation Stage framework³. In practice this means early years settings and colleges should expect to be held to a similar standard, but by a different legal route rather than a direct extension of Section 100.

Geographically, all of this applies to England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each operate under their own existing guidance on supporting children with healthcare needs, published in 2017, 2017 and 2008 respectively, and none have yet announced an equivalent statutory overhaul². Multi-academy trusts and groups with settings across more than one nation, or spanning maintained, independent and early years provision, will need to track requirements separately rather than assuming a single policy will cover every site.

Staff training: what’s confirmed, and what isn’t

What is confirmed is that allergy awareness training will become mandatory for all staff, not only designated first aiders, covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response, and the correct use of adrenaline auto-injector devices¹.

What is not yet confirmed is the exact format that training must take. Whether the requirement can be satisfied by an existing first aid qualification that already covers anaphylaxis, whether it requires a standalone allergy-specific course, or whether schools will need a combination of the two, has not been settled in the published consultation material. Schools and training providers are both waiting for that clarity, and it is worth being cautious of anyone claiming, before the final guidance lands, that a particular course definitely satisfies the new requirement.

The draft guidance does go further than basic awareness on one point: it points towards regular, at least annual, allergy awareness training for all staff, refreshed for new starters and supply staff as they join. Until the final guidance is published, schools should treat that as the likely planning assumption rather than a confirmed final specification.

One thing is already settled regardless of how the training specification lands: Paediatric First Aid already covers recognising and responding to anaphylaxis and severe allergic reactions in children as a core part of its syllabus, and it is already a requirement for Ofsted-regulated early years settings. A staff team with current, FAIB-accredited Paediatric First Aid is starting from a position of strength, whatever the final wording of the training requirement turns out to be.

Individual Healthcare Plans and named accountability

Individual Healthcare Plans are not a new concept. Many schools already use them, often based on the BSACI Allergy Action Plan format, to record a pupil’s specific arrangements, triggers and emergency contacts in one place². What is changing is the breadth of who they cover, and the clarity of ownership behind them.

On breadth, the draft statutory guidance is explicit: a child or young person does not need a formal diagnosis to have an Individual Healthcare Plan. Whenever it is clear that a child has medical needs which affect their life at school, including while a diagnosis is still being investigated, arrangements should be put in place and recorded in an IHP³. Schools should not treat the absence of a diagnosis as a reason to wait.

On ownership, the draft guidance already points towards clear, named accountability rather than informal or catering-led arrangements. It says there should be a named governor and a named member of the senior leadership team responsible for the school’s medical conditions policy, and the same again, specifically, for its allergy safety policy³. Whether the final published guidance attaches a particular job title to these roles, such as a designated lead or allergy governor, is a separate question that has not been settled. The substance is already clear: schools will need two named people who own this, whatever they end up being called.

Will Ofsted inspect allergy safety?

Yes, in the sense that the draft statutory guidance says so directly. It states that, as part of its inspection arrangements, Ofsted will consider the effectiveness of a school’s arrangements for safeguarding and inclusion, and that inspectors will specifically consider medical conditions and allergy safety policies and how effectively they are implemented³. That does not necessarily mean allergy safety becomes a standalone, separately graded inspection judgement, and no Ofsted handbook has yet been published reflecting the change. But it does mean schools should expect their policy, training records, Individual Healthcare Plans and incident learning to be capable of standing up to scrutiny, not just to exist on paper.

Practical steps schools can take now

Whatever detail the final guidance confirms, the direction is clear enough to act on now.

• Review your current medical conditions or allergy policy against the four core requirements: a standalone policy, spare AAIs, all staff training, and Individual Healthcare Plans
• Confirm who your named governor and named senior leader will be for both your medical conditions policy and your allergy safety policy, even ahead of the final guidance landing
• Audit your spare adrenaline auto-injector stock: check expiry dates and confirm storage is accessible, not locked away
• Map which staff currently hold first aid training that covers anaphylaxis recognition and response, and identify the gaps
• Review existing Individual Healthcare Plans for currency and clarity, and check none have been delayed pending a formal diagnosis where support is already needed
• Watch for the final statutory guidance, expected before the new academic year, and revisit your policy once it is published rather than building on the draft alone

Benedict’s Law represents a genuine shift in how seriously allergy management is treated in schools, from something many settings handled well through good practice, to something every setting will be expected to demonstrate. Getting ahead of staff training now, rather than waiting for the final document, is the single most practical step available.

Talk to us about preparing for compliance

If you are reviewing your school’s allergy policy and training ahead of September 2026, Constellation Training can help you understand where your current Paediatric First Aid coverage stands and where the gaps are.

Speak to Constellation Training about Paediatric First Aid

References

1. Department for Education. Stronger protections for children with allergies in school. GOV.UK. Published 4 March 2026, updated 5 March 2026.

2. British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology, Anaphylaxis UK and Allergy UK. Model Policy for Allergy Management at School, version 2.1, 2024 (data drawn from Muraro A, et al. The Management of the Allergic Child at School. Allergy. 2010;65(6):681–689).

3. Department for Education. Supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergy. Draft statutory guidance for consultation, March 2026.

4. Department for Education. Proposal on support for pupils with medical conditions at school. Public consultation, 5 March to 15 May 2026.

5. Children and Families Act 2014, Section 100. legislation.gov.uk.

6. Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, Section 34 (inserting Section 100A into the Children and Families Act 2014). legislation.gov.uk. Royal Assent 29 April 2026.

7. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Food allergy. Quality standard QS118. 2016.

8. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Anaphylaxis: assessment and referral after emergency treatment. NICE guideline NG258. Published 27 May 2026 (replaces and updates CG134).