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The Department for Education has published new statutory guidance on Allergy Safety in Schools.

The guidance asks schools to take a whole-school approach to managing allergies—not simply responding to emergencies.

That means looking at:

• Allergy Safety Policies
• Staff allergy awareness training
• Individual Healthcare Plans
• Allergy & Asthma Action Plans
• Food allergy management
• Access to prescribed and spare adrenaline devices
• School trips and educational visits
• Information sharing
• Wellbeing
• Recording serious incidents and near misses

One particularly important point is that the guidance states that first aid training alone is not sufficient.

Schools are expected to provide wider allergy awareness and emergency response training for staff as part of a broader allergy safety strategy.

See full gov.uk document here.

What has changed?

For many schools, allergy management has traditionally focused on responding to emergencies.

The new guidance takes a broader approach.

Rather than asking only: "Can staff recognise and treat anaphylaxis?"

Schools are now encouraged to consider: "How do we create an environment where allergic reactions are less likely to happen in the first place—and where everyone knows what to do if they do?"

It's a shift from simply reacting to emergencies towards proactively managing allergy safety across the whole school.

What does the guidance expect schools to consider?

• Whole-school Allergy Safety Policy
• Annual allergy awareness training
• Identifying pupils with allergies
• Individual Healthcare Plans
• Allergy & Asthma Action Plans
• Safe food management
• Managing allergens in classrooms and activities
• School trips and educational visits
• Access to prescribed and spare adrenaline devices
• Recording incidents and learning from near misses
• Supporting pupil wellbeing

Where does staff training fit?

Staff training is one important part of the guidance — it is not the whole guidance.The Department for Education makes clear that schools should provide staff with regular allergy awareness and emergency response training.

Training helps staff recognise allergic reactions quickly, respond appropriately in an emergency and understand their role within the school's wider allergy safety arrangements.

However, training should sit alongside effective policies, planning, communication and risk management.

How FAB can help

FAB offers a non-regulated Allergy Awareness & Emergency Response course that supports the staff training element of the new guidance.
The course includes:

• Understanding allergies and anaphylaxis
• Common allergy triggers
• Recognising signs and symptoms
• Emergency response
• Calling for emergency help
• Adrenaline auto-injector awareness and training devices

It is designed to help staff feel more confident in recognising and responding to allergic emergencies as part of a wider whole-school approach to allergy safety.

Useful resources

Department for Education – Allergy Safety in Schools (the statutory guidance)

GOV.UK – Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school

British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI) – Guidance and Allergy Action Plans

Spare Adrenaline in Schools – Practical resources for schools

Food Standards Agency – Food allergen guidance

Allergy UK – Advice and educational resources