Benedict’s Law Allergy Training for Schools: Turning Statutory Guidance into Staff Readiness
Nansen Green can now coordinate school-specific online allergy awareness training for whole staff teams
The Department for Education has now published its final Allergy Safety in Schools statutory guidance, marking an important change in how schools in England are expected to manage allergy risks.
Published on 6 July 2026, the guidance applies to maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units. It will also be relevant as good practice to other education providers, including early years settings and independent schools.
This follows the introduction of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and the campaign commonly known as Benedict’s Law.
For schools, the message is clear: allergy safety is not solely the responsibility of the school office, first-aid team or catering service. It is a whole-school safeguarding and risk-management responsibility.
What does the new guidance say about staff training?
A school’s allergy safety policy should explain how regular whole-school allergy awareness and emergency-response training will be provided.
The guidance expects staff to receive training at least annually. It states that all staff present while pupils are scheduled to be on site should receive allergy awareness training, including:
Teachers and teaching assistants.
Senior leaders and administrative staff.
Catering Staff (in addition to Level 2 Food Allergy Awareness)
Lunchtime supervisors.
Breakfast and after-school club staff.
Temporary and supply staff.
Peripatetic and agency staff.
Regular volunteers.
Contractors with no pupil-facing responsibility, such as an electrician completing an isolated maintenance visit, would not normally be included.
The statutory guidance also makes clear that standard first-aid training by itself is not sufficient.
Staff need to understand allergy risks, recognise allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, know how to respond in an emergency and understand their responsibility for reducing the likelihood of allergen exposure.
Catering staff also require the more detailed Level 2 Food Allergy Awareness course we also offer.
A new school-specific online training option
Nansen Green Catering Consultancy can now arrange a CPD-accredited Allergy Awareness for Schools course, delivered online through our specialist training provider.
The course has been developed for people working throughout the school environment rather than solely for catering personnel. It takes approximately one to two hours to complete and provides four CPD points and a downloadable certificate following successful completion.
Learners can work through the course at their own pace and have access to knowledge checks, an online assessment and free assessment retakes.
Course content includes:
Why allergies can cause serious harm.
Whole-school allergy responsibilities.
Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans.
Common allergenic ingredients and exposure risks.
The difference between allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease.
Preventing cross-contamination.
Allergy risks in classrooms, dining areas, school trips and shared spaces.
Recognising allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.
Responding to an allergy emergency.
Role-specific self-assessment and everyday safe practice.
The course is suitable for teaching, support, administrative, lunchtime, leadership and volunteer roles. Staff whose principal duties include preparing and handling food may also require a separate catering-specific allergen awareness course.
More than simply purchasing course licences
Allocating online courses to a whole school workforce can become an administrative burden, particularly when staff work different hours or include temporary, catering, cleaning and wraparound-care teams.
Nansen Green can manage the allocation process on the school’s behalf.
Our managed service can include:
Registering and allocating courses to named members of staff.
Issuing access instructions.
Monitoring learner progress.
Sending reminders to staff who have not completed their training.
Providing the school with a final completion register.
Supporting the collation of training certificates.
This provides the school with a clearer evidence trail and reduces the administrative work involved in coordinating whole-school training.
Training is one part of the school’s responsibility
Online training provides an important foundation, but it cannot replace the school’s own operational arrangements.
Each school will still need to ensure that staff understand:
Its published allergy safety policy.
Which pupils have allergies.
How to access the relevant Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy or Asthma Action Plans.
Where prescribed and spare emergency medication is stored.
How to obtain immediate assistance during an emergency.
How incidents and near misses must be recorded and reported.
The arrangements for school meals, trips, clubs, classroom food activities and external visits.
New staff, temporary staff and supply staff must also be included within the school’s induction arrangements.
Schools should therefore view the online course as part of a wider allergy safety system rather than as a stand-alone compliance exercise.
The catering implications
Food allergy remains a particularly significant area of school risk.
Catering arrangements need to ensure that allergen information is accurate, special diets are properly authorised and communicated, ingredient substitutions are controlled and pupils receive the correct meal at the point of service.
There must also be clear communication between the school, parents or carers, the catering provider and frontline lunchtime staff.
Whole-school awareness training helps teaching and supervisory staff understand these controls, but kitchen personnel should continue to receive more detailed training appropriate to food preparation, ingredient management and cross-contamination prevention.
Introductory managed training offer
Nansen Green is offering introductory managed whole-school training packages starting from:
£149 + VAT for up to 10 members of staff
£229 + VAT for up to 25 members of staff
£345 + VAT for up to 50 members of staff
Packages can include course allocation, learner communications, progress monitoring, reminders and a final completion record for the school.
Prices include course allocation and administration by Nansen Green, monitoring of learner completion, reminder communications and a final completion record. Online training supports the school’s allergy safety arrangements but does not replace its own policy, pupil-specific healthcare plans, emergency procedures or any practical and clinical training required for individual pupils.
Preparing for the new expectations
The publication of the statutory guidance means schools should now move from general preparation to practical implementation.
Training all relevant staff is an important step, but it should sit alongside a dedicated allergy safety policy, current healthcare plans, robust catering controls, accessible emergency medication and clear leadership oversight.
Nansen Green Catering Consultancy can support schools with the catering implications of allergy safety and coordinate school-specific online training for staff teams.
Contact Nansen Green to discuss the number of staff requiring training and receive a tailored quotation.