Check your school against the new DfE statutory guidance Allergy safety in schools (published 6 July 2026) and Benedict's Law. Answer a few simple questions about your allergy policy, staff training, spare adrenaline auto-injectors, allergy record and drills — in around 10 minutes you get an instant action plan and policy checklist on screen, plus a free emailed PDF report. No sign-up needed.
Built for school leaders, SENCOs, business managers and governors preparing a school allergy policy for 2026 — and equally useful as a good-practice school allergy risk assessment for nurseries and colleges.
Check your school against the new statutory guidance and Benedict's Law. Around 10 minutes — instant action plan, policy checklist and an emailed PDF report. No sign-up, no cost.
Start Your Free Assessment →Benedict's Law is section 34 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, and the final statutory guidance — Allergy safety in schools on GOV.UK — was published on 6 July 2026. Schools in England should have regard to the guidance now, and the legal duty is expected to apply from September 2026. Statutory guidance now expects schools to have:
Where the law stands today: the statutory guidance is published and schools should have regard to it now; the binding policy duty under Benedict's Law is expected from September 2026 (commencement regulations awaited), and hard legal duties on spare adrenaline devices, staff training, the named lead and incident recording are expected later through forthcoming regulations. None of the September items is in-force law today.
Gaps schools most often find:
Prioritised action plan
Your gaps, ordered by priority, each anchored to the guidance
12-area policy checklist
Your policy content mapped to the DfE allergy policy template
Spare-device dose guidance
How many pairs and which doses for your pupils and sites
September 2026 readiness
A pillar-by-pillar view of policy, training, adrenaline, records and drills
Emailed PDF report
Ready to show governors and inspectors
Re-run it each year
A dated report evidences your regular review cycle
Nurseries, colleges and early years settings can use the assessment as a good-practice check too. The new duty targets schools in England, and the assessment flags the differences that apply to your setting — for example, the rules on purchasing spare adrenaline devices.
Tell us about your school, policy, training, adrenaline devices, records and drills. Around 10 minutes.
Instant on-screen action plan and a policy checklist mapped to the DfE template.
Enter your email to receive your PDF report — ready to save, print and share with your governing body.
The DfE guidance says it is good practice to run allergy safety drills “in the same way as fire drills” and record the results like a near miss — expressly good practice, not a legal duty. Log your termly school allergy drills the way you log fire drills.
Not yet — but it is coming. The DfE statutory guidance 'Allergy safety in schools', published on 6 July 2026, already expects every school in England to have a dedicated allergy safety policy, and schools should have regard to the guidance now. The binding legal duty under Benedict's Law is expected to apply from September 2026, once commencement regulations are made.
Benedict's Law is section 34 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, named after Benedict Blythe, a five-year-old who died from anaphylaxis at school. It will require every school in England to hold an allergy safety policy, review it at least annually and publish it on the school website. The duty is expected to apply from September 2026, supported by the DfE statutory guidance published on 6 July 2026.
The DfE guidance and its official policy template group the content into 12 areas, including awareness training, allergy-related bullying, minimising exposure to known allergens, food allergy, an allergy record, individual healthcare plans, prescribed and spare adrenaline, visits and trips, serious incidents and near misses, information sharing and publicising the policy. Our free assessment checks your policy against all 12 areas.
Schools have been legally allowed to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors without a prescription since October 2017. The new statutory guidance goes further: it expects all schools to stock spare devices, stored in pairs at the correct doses and reachable within five minutes from anywhere on site. A hard legal duty is expected later through forthcoming regulations. Nasal adrenaline sprays cannot currently be stocked as spare devices.
The statutory guidance expects regular — at least annual — allergy awareness training for all staff present when pupils are on site, including supply and agency staff, catering teams, breakfast and after-school club staff and regular volunteers. The guidance states that first aid training is not sufficient on its own. A statutory training duty is expected to follow through forthcoming regulations.
No. The DfE guidance flags allergy safety drills as good practice, which is expressly non-statutory — there is no legal duty to run them. It suggests running drills in the same way as fire drills and recording the results like a near miss. Our free Allergy Drill Log makes that easy, including timing how quickly adrenaline can reach a casualty.
Benedict's Law and the 'Allergy safety in schools' guidance apply to schools in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland follow their own national guidance, and the Welsh Government is currently reviewing its guidance and will consider Benedict's Law. The 2017 power to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors without a prescription applies UK-wide. The assessment asks which nation you are in and tailors its notes.
Yes, completely free. You can complete the School Allergy Safety Assessment and view your personalised results on screen without registering. Enter your email address to receive a free PDF report you can share with governors and inspectors. You can also create a free account to save your assessment and re-run it each year as evidence of regular review.
Completely free — around 10 minutes, instant action plan and policy checklist, emailed PDF report. No sign-up needed.
Start Your Free Assessment →The assessment tells you where the gaps are — our two-part training proposition closes the biggest one. A free online allergy awareness course for your whole team, plus the hands-on practical session with trainer adrenaline devices that good practice strongly recommends.
Have questions? Contact us and we will be happy to help.
The summaries on this page reflect the Department for Education's statutory guidance Allergy safety in schools, published on 6 July 2026, and Benedict's Law (section 34 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026). They are provided for general information only and are not legal advice. Requirements are changing through 2026–27 — always check GOV.UK for the current requirements that apply to your school.
Check your school against the new DfE guidance and Benedict's Law in around 10 minutes. No sign-up needed.
Start Free AssessmentLog termly allergy drills like fire drills — time-to-adrenaline, outcomes and signed PDF records. Free with an account.
Open Drill LogThis free assessment is based on:
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