Benedict's Law: What Will Be Required of Education Settings From September 2026

From September 2026, allergy safety will no longer be a matter of best practice for schools in England; it will be the law. A new set of statutory duties, known as Benedict's Law, will require every school to have a whole school allergy policy, trained staff, spare adrenaline auto-injectors on site, and Individual Healthcare Plans for pupils with allergies.

With the statutory guidance due for publication in July 2026, now is the time for school leaders to understand what's coming and start preparing. Here's everything you need to know.

What is Benedict's Law?

Benedict's Law is new legislation making allergy safety mandatory in all schools in England. It forms part of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026.

Under the law, from September 2026, schools must have:

• A dedicated, whole-school allergy policy

• Staff trained in allergy awareness and anaphylaxis response

• Spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) held on site

• Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs) for pupils with allergies

The official statutory guidance is currently out for consultation and is expected to be published in July 2026, ahead of the law coming into force that September.

Why was Benedict's Law introduced?

The law is named after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old boy who tragically died at school in December 2021 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to cow's milk, an allergy his school was aware of.

Benedict's parents, together with the Benedict Blythe Foundation and several allergy charities, campaigned for years for stronger allergy protections in education settings. That campaign directly led to the legislation now known as Benedict's Law.

The scale of the issue is significant. There are currently around 680,000 pupils with allergies in English schools, meaning most classes of 25 pupils will include one or two children with an allergy. Yet a 2024 freedom of information request by the Benedict Blythe Foundation found that 70% of schools in England did not have the recommended allergy safeguards in place, and half of all schools had no adrenaline pens or spare auto-injectors on site at all. Benedict's Law exists to close that gap.

What will Benedict's Law require schools to do?

From September 2026, all schools in England will need to meet four core statutory requirements.

1. A whole school allergy policy

Schools must develop and maintain a dedicated allergy policy setting out how allergies will be managed and how the school will respond in an emergency. This needs to be a standalone policy, separate from the general medical conditions policy, and it must be published on the school's website.

2. Allergy awareness training for all staff

This is one of the most far-reaching parts of the legislation. Every member of staff, not just teachers, but caretakers, minibus drivers, lunchtime supervisors, and anyone else on site, will need to complete allergy and anaphylaxis training covering:

• Recognising the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis

• How to respond in an emergency, including when and how to call 999

• The safe storage and use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs)

• Incident recording, reporting, and learning from what happened

The intention behind the guidance is straightforward: whoever happens to be present when a reaction occurs should be able to recognise it and act immediately, without waiting for a specific "allergy lead" to arrive.

3. Spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) on site

Schools will be required to hold spare AAIs on site for life-threatening emergencies. It's worth being clear on what this means: these are additional devices held by the school for general emergency use, not a second device prescribed for one individual child.

4. Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs)

Schools must have an Individual Healthcare Plan in place for every child with a food allergy, along with pupils who have other serious allergies, for example, to animal dander or insect venom such as bees, wasps and hornets, where emergency arrangements or reasonable adjustments are needed.

Beyond these four requirements, the guidance also expects a named governor and senior leader to take active oversight of allergy safety in the school, including reviewing incidents when they occur and, where appropriate, running anaphylaxis drills.

When does Benedict's Law come into force?

Benedict's Law comes into force in September 2026. The statutory guidance is expected to be published in July 2026, once the current consultation period closes. Schools can read the Department for Education's announcement for full details on the government's commitment.

Getting ready ahead of September 2026

With staff training, policy documentation, and Individual Healthcare Plans all required by September, most schools have a genuine amount of preparation to do, particularly around making sure every member of staff, not just teaching staff, has completed appropriate training.

At Prospero Learning, we're keeping a close eye on the statutory guidance as it's published. Our new Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness course is currently going through accreditation and will be available by the beginning of August.

If you would like to know more about this course, please contact info@prospero-learning.com.

This article reflects the information publicly available at the time of writing. Schools should refer to the official Department for Education guidance, once published, for definitive compliance requirements.