At a glance

• The Department for Education published new statutory guidance, “Allergy safety in schools”, on 6 July 2026.
• It applies to state-funded schools in England (maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units) from 1 September 2026.
• From then, every school must have a written allergy safety policy, publish it (including on the school website) and review it at least once a year.
• Schools are also expected to train all staff, stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors, and put Individual Healthcare Plans in place for pupils with allergies.
• The duty comes from section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, known as Benedict’s Law. The government plans to add further legal duties through regulations, and to extend the rules to independent schools from 2027.

Last reviewed: 9 July 2026. We will keep this post updated as the further regulations and duties are confirmed.

A school allergy policy is no longer just good practice. From September 2026 it becomes something every school in England has to have, publish and keep up to date, and your school website is where it needs to live.

On 6 July 2026 the Department for Education published new statutory guidance called “Allergy safety in schools”. It sets out what schools must do to keep pupils with allergies safe, and it applies from the start of the 2026/27 school year. This post explains what has changed, what your allergy safety policy needs to cover, and the simple steps to get your website ready in good time. We will update it as the remaining detail is confirmed.

What has changed

For years, having an allergy policy was something schools were encouraged to do, not required to do. That has now changed.

The new statutory guidance, “Allergy safety in schools”, was published on 6 July 2026 and applies from 1 September 2026. It comes from section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, often called Benedict’s Law after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old who died following an allergic reaction. Section 34 adds allergy safety to the existing duty to support pupils with medical conditions (section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014).

Being statutory guidance matters. It means schools must have regard to it, which in plain terms is this: follow it, and be ready to give a clear and reasonable explanation if you ever depart from it. Inspectors will expect to see it in place.

The guidance applies to maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England. The government has said it intends to go further, turning some expectations into explicit legal duties through regulations, and extending the requirements to independent schools and non-maintained special schools from 2027.

What schools must do from September 2026

Here is the heart of it. From the start of the 2026/27 year, schools are expected to:

• Have a written allergy safety policy, publish it (including on the school website) and review it at least once a year.
• Give a named member of the senior leadership team responsibility for allergy safety. The guidance is clear this should not be left to the catering manager.
• Provide allergy and anaphylaxis training for all staff, so they can recognise an allergic reaction and respond in an emergency.
• Stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergency use.
• Put an Individual Healthcare Plan in place for each pupil with allergies, and keep a record of every pupil with an allergy.
• Record serious incidents and near misses, and learn from them.

A quick word on how firm each part is. Having and publishing the allergy safety policy is the statutory duty set out in the Act. The other measures (training all staff, stocking spare pens, naming a senior leader) sit in the statutory guidance you must have regard to from September 2026, and the government intends to make them hard legal duties through regulations that follow. In practice, the sensible move is to treat the whole list as your standard now.

What your allergy safety policy should include

The guidance expects a dedicated allergy safety policy, not a couple of lines buried in a wider medical conditions policy. A good one sets out:

• Who in school has an allergy (pupils, and where relevant staff and visitors), what they are allergic to, and whether they carry medication such as an adrenaline pen.
• How you gather that information from parents and previous settings, including copies of any Individual Healthcare Plan or Allergy Action Plan.
• How you reduce risk day to day: school meals and catering (working with your school caterers on allergen information and cross-contamination), food brought in for birthday parties and special events, cooking classes, and school trips.
• Your emergency response: recognising anaphylaxis, giving adrenaline without delay, and calling 999.
• How spare adrenaline auto-injectors are stored, checked and used.
• Training for staff, and who is responsible for what.
• How you record incidents and review what happened.

Allergies can also count as a disability, so it is good practice to think about reasonable adjustments alongside the policy.

For the clinical detail, schools do not need to start from scratch. Allergy Action Plans from the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI), completed with a pupil’s healthcare professional, can form the basis of their Individual Healthcare Plan. Charities such as Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis UK also publish helpful resources.

Adrenaline auto-injectors, in plain terms

Adrenaline pens raise a lot of questions, so here is the simple version.

• Since October 2017, schools have been allowed to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors without a prescription. Until now that has been a choice. From September 2026 the guidance expects every school to hold them.
• A spare pen is a back-up. Pupils prescribed their own should still carry two at all times.
• Store spare pens somewhere safe, central and easy to reach, clearly labelled, not locked away, and no more than a few minutes from where they might be needed.
• Anaphylaxis is time-critical. Give adrenaline without delay and call 999, even if a pen has already been used.

Why this matters for your school website

This is where it lands for us, and for you. The allergy safety policy is not an internal document. It has to be published, and the school website is where parents, staff and inspectors will look for it.

That puts it in the same family as your other statutory policies. And, as our own audit data keeps showing, the hard part is rarely publishing something once. It is keeping it current, keeping it easy to find, and making sure it does not quietly drift out of date. School website compliance is a maintenance job, not a one-off publishing job. An allergy safety policy is one more item that needs a clear home, a yearly check, and now a named person who owns it.

There is a human side too. A parent whose child has a serious allergy will look for your policy. Finding it, clearly written and easy to reach, is reassurance that your school takes their child’s safety seriously.

If you already keep your school website policies in good order, this will slot straight in.

The numbers behind the change

It helps to know why this is happening. The research is stark.

• Around 20% of food allergic reactions happen at school (Natasha Allergy Research Foundation).
• In a 2025 survey of almost 1,900 teachers, 67% had received no allergy awareness training, one in five had never been trained to use an adrenaline auto-injector, and 60% did not know whether their school had an allergy policy (NASUWT and the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation).
• About 8% of children in the UK have a food allergy, which is roughly two children in every classroom.

The new guidance is designed to close that gap, so that every school is ready rather than hoping it never happens.

How to get Always Ready before September

You do not need to wait. Here is a simple plan for the summer term and into the new year.

1. Write or refresh your allergy safety policy so it reflects how your school actually works.
2. Name a senior leader to own allergy safety.
3. Give it a clear home on your website, alongside your other policies, so it is easy to find.
4. Sort your spare adrenaline auto-injectors, their storage and their checks.
5. Get Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans in place for pupils with allergies, and keep your record up to date.
6. Book allergy and anaphylaxis training for all staff.
7. Add the policy to your yearly review cycle, and risk assess trips, cooking classes and special events.

Keep it steady and joined up. This belongs in a calm, planned approach to your website and your safeguarding, not a last-minute scramble in September.

Get your whole website ready, not just the allergy policy

The allergy safety policy is one item on a longer list of things your website needs to get right. Two things will help you see the full picture.

• Download the free School Website Requirements Guide. It brings all the statutory requirements together with clear explanations and a full compliance checklist, and it is trusted by thousands of schools every year.
• Join our live school website compliance workshop. We walk through what your website needs, take your questions, and help you leave with a clear plan.

If you would like a hand getting ready, get in touch. We are always happy to help.

Frequently asked questions

Do schools have to have an allergy policy? Yes. From 1 September 2026, state-funded schools in England (maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units) must have a written allergy safety policy, publish it and review it at least once a year, under the new DfE statutory guidance and section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.

Is there a September 2026 deadline? Yes. The statutory guidance “Allergy safety in schools” was published on 6 July 2026 and applies from 1 September 2026, the start of the 2026/27 school year.

Do schools have to publish the allergy policy on their website? Yes. The policy has to be published, and the school website is where it should live, alongside your other statutory policies.

Do schools have to keep spare adrenaline auto-injectors? From September 2026 the guidance expects every school to stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergencies. Schools have been allowed to buy them without a prescription since 2017, and the government intends to make holding them a legal duty through regulations.

Does every member of staff need allergy training? The guidance expects all staff to have allergy and anaphylaxis training so they can spot a reaction and respond. This is set to become a legal duty through regulations.

How often should the allergy safety policy be reviewed? At least once a year. Some schools choose to check theirs each term.

Who should be responsible for allergy safety in school? A named member of the senior leadership team. The guidance is clear it should not be left to the catering manager, and the government intends to make a named senior leader a legal requirement.

What is an Individual Healthcare Plan? It is a plan for a pupil with a medical condition that sets out their allergens, the symptoms to watch for, the medication they need and what to do in an emergency. For a child with allergies, a BSACI Allergy Action Plan completed with their healthcare professional can form the basis of it.

This post reflects the position as at 9 July 2026, following the DfE’s publication of “Allergy safety in schools” on 6 July 2026. We will update it as the government confirms the further regulations, the move to full statutory duties, and the extension to independent and non-maintained special schools expected from 2027.