School Allergy Safety Duties: What "Benedict's Law" Requires From September 2026

New legal requirements on allergy safety in schools came into force on 1 September 2026. Widely referred to as “Benedict's Law” — after Benedict Blythe, who died following an allergic reaction at school in 2021 — the duty comes from section 34 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, with the detail set out in the Department for Education's statutory guidance, Allergy safety in schools, which replaces the non-statutory guidance schools have relied on since 2017. It moves allergy management from good practice into a formal, published, auditable duty — much like fire safety or safeguarding already are.

If your school hasn't yet reviewed its allergy arrangements against the new guidance, here's what's actually required and where facilities and compliance leads typically need to act.

What's changed

Since October 2017, schools have been permitted to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) without a prescription, but it was optional. From September 2026, the guidance expects every school to hold spare AAIs as standard — a back-up for pupils prescribed their own, who should still carry two at all times.

Beyond the pens themselves, the guidance sets out a fuller package of duties:

• A written allergy safety policy — published, including on the school website, and reviewed at least once a year.
• A named senior leader with explicit responsibility for allergy safety. The guidance is clear this shouldn't default to the catering manager — it needs senior-leadership ownership.
• Allergy and anaphylaxis training for all staff, so every member of staff can recognise a reaction and knows how to respond in an emergency, not just those who work in the dining hall.
• Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs) for every pupil with a diagnosed allergy, plus a school-wide record of who those pupils are.

Why this matters beyond compliance

This isn't a paperwork exercise for its own sake. Anaphylaxis in schools is rare but the consequences of a slow or confused response are severe, and previous incidents involving delayed adrenaline administration are part of what's driven the shift to statutory footing. Ofsted and local authority reviewers will increasingly expect to see the policy, the training records and the IHPs on file, not just hear that "we handle it."

What to check now

1. Is there a written, published allergy policy? If your current policy predates September 2026, it needs reviewing against the new guidance, not just re-dating.
2. Is a named senior leader signed off as responsible for allergy safety? This should be minuted at SLT or governor level, not just implied by job title.
3. Has all staff had allergy and anaphylaxis training this year? Supply staff and new starters need it too — a training register is worth keeping alongside your other statutory training records.
4. Are spare AAIs actually on site, in date, and known to staff? A pen that's expired or that nobody can locate in an emergency doesn't meet the intent of the guidance.
5. Does every pupil with a diagnosed allergy have an up-to-date IHP? These should be reviewed at least annually and whenever a pupil's diagnosis changes.

Where this fits with everything else

Allergy safety is landing alongside an already busy compliance calendar for schools — Martyn's Law preparations, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 safeguarding changes, and routine fire and H&S statutory reviews. Treating it as a standalone task rather than folding it into your existing compliance documentation and review cycle is how it ends up forgotten by the following September.

If you'd like your current allergy policy, training records and IHP process reviewed against the new guidance — on its own or as part of a wider compliance audit — get in touch for a free 30-minute consultation.

This article is general guidance, not medical or legal advice. For a definitive view on your specific setting, consult the relevant statutory guidance, your school nursing team, or a suitably qualified adviser.