Rochdale MP and education minister Paul Waugh welcomes Benedict’s Law, which from this September requires every school to be ready to respond to a life-threatening allergic reaction
New national protections requiring every school in England to be prepared for a life-threatening allergic reaction have come into force this September, under a change campaigners have named Benedict’s Law.
For Rochdale, the moment carries added significance. The minister helping to oversee the change in government, Paul Waugh, is the town’s own Member of Parliament.
From this month, every school must have:
– a whole-school allergy policy, setting out how allergies are managed and how staff respond in an emergency
– allergy awareness training for all staff, including how to recognise a reaction and use an adrenaline auto-injector
– spare adrenaline auto-injectors kept on site for emergencies, including for a child not previously known to have an allergy
– an individual healthcare or allergy action plan for every pupil with a diagnosed allergy
Nearly 700,000 children in England have a food allergy, with around two in every classroom affected. Schools are one of the most common places outside the home for a serious reaction to happen, and many reactions occur in children not previously known to have an allergy. One in five anaphylaxis deaths among school-aged children in the UK happen at school. Allergy-related illness and medical appointments also account for an estimated 500,000 lost school days every year.
Paul Waugh MP, Minister for Early Education said:
“One of my sons has a nut allergy, so I am acutely aware of the worries many Rochdale parents have when they wave their child off in the morning. For hundreds of families in our town who have a child with a serious allergy, that worry has been a daily reality.
“From this month, no parent in Rochdale should have to send their child to school wondering whether staff know what to do if the worst happens. Every school will have a proper allergy policy, trained staff and life-saving adrenaline pens on hand.
“This change is called Benedict’s Law for a reason. It exists because a five-year-old boy lost his life, and because his family turned unimaginable grief into a campaign to protect other people’s children. I am humbled to be helping bring it into our classrooms, and proud that children in Rochdale will be safer because of it.”
Benedict’s Law is named after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old boy who died from an allergic reaction at school in 2021. His family established the Benedict Blythe Foundation and campaigned alongside clinicians, allergy charities and unions for the national protections that have now become a legal requirement.
The measures apply to state schools, academies, free schools, special schools and independent schools across England, with campaigners continuing to press for the same protections in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.