✔ Schools will need to mount a stand-alone allergy safety policy setting out how they will manage allergy safety and respond to emergencies across the whole school. This must not be folded into a more general medical policy, and it must be reviewed at least once a year. The allergy safety policy should be easily and readily available for all parents and staff to read, for example, on the school website.

✔ Schools will be asked to appoint a named member of the senior leadership team to oversee the implementation of the allergy policy, as well as to improve incident and “near miss” reporting and communication around allergic reactions.

✔ Benedict’s Law is also intended to promote inclusion and tackling bullying. Schools will need to to set out how they will make sure children and young people with allergies can be kept both safe and fully included on trips, during mealtimes or at clubs.

✔ Schools will now also be obliged to stock spare AAIs for emergency use. In the case of anaphylaxis, AAIs should be available to be administered within 5 minutes. Larger settings may therefore need to purchase extra devices. Schools will also need to be responsible for checking the AAIs regularly and replacing them when they expire.

✔ Schools will also need to have Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs) for children and young people if they have an allergy which has a functional impact on them in their education setting, they are at risk of harm as a result of their allergy, or they require arrangements which are additional to or different from those made generally. A formal allergy diagnosis is not necessary for a child or young person to have an IHP.