School Allergy Awareness Training | Benedict’s Law | Blended
Give every adult on site the skills to spot anaphylaxis and act in minutes. This blended course helps your school meet the allergy safety duties now in force under Benedict’s Law.
Staff complete a one-hour e-learning module first, then attend a two-hour practical session for devices, CPR and AED. Prefer theory and practice on the same day? See the four-hour face-to-face course.
Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness for Schools (Benedict’s Law)
From 1 September 2026, maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England must have a published allergy safety policy and have regard to the Department for Education’s Allergy safety in schools guidance.
Allergies are common. About two children in every classroom have a diagnosed food allergy and around one in five severe reactions happen at school. First aiders alone are not enough as a reaction can start in a corridor, dining hall or playground.
Blended learning lets you cover the theory with the whole staff team in their own time, then bring people together only for the hands-on skills.
What Schools Must Have in Place
- A dedicated allergy safety policy, published on the school website and reviewed at least once a year
- Allergy awareness and emergency response training for all staff who work with pupils
- Individual Healthcare Plans and Allergy Action Plans for pupils who need extra arrangements
- Rapid access to prescribed adrenaline, plus spare auto-injectors held for emergency use (suggested suppliers list)
- A system to record incidents and near misses and to learn from them
Who Is This Training For?
Allergy safety is a whole-school duty. Book the people who will be first on scene, not only the first aid team.
- Teaching teams: class teachers, HLTAs and teaching assistants
- Early years and wraparound: nursery practitioners, breakfast and after-school staff
- Support and facilities: lunchtime supervisors, playground staff and catering teams
- Operations and admin: office staff, site teams and school transport drivers
- Leadership and governance: headteachers, DSLs, business managers and governors
Who Benedict’s Law Applies To
The statutory allergy safety policy duty applies now to:
- Maintained schools: local authority primary, secondary and special schools (not maintained nursery schools)
- Academies and free schools: including alternative provision academies (not 16 to 19 academies)
- Pupil referral units
Independent schools should still train staff and hold spare devices. Equivalent duties are expected to follow through their own regulatory route.
How Blended Learning Works
- Part 1. E-learning (about 1 hour): staff complete the online module before the practical date. Video demonstrations cover adrenaline auto-injectors, EURneffy nasal spray, CPR and AED use.
- Part 2. Practical session (2 hours): we come to your school, or you join an open session in Knutsford. Learners practise on trainer devices and complete the assessed emergency sequence.
Learners must finish the e-learning before they attend the practical. We issue login details after booking, during normal working hours.
Course Content
E-learning module
- The development of Benedict’s Law
- What is an allergy?
- Mild allergic reactions
- Anaphylaxis: recognition and the ABC approach
- Anaphylaxis: emergency response
- Understanding adrenaline medication (AAIs and EURneffy nasal spray)
- Biphasic anaphylaxis (second-wave reactions)
- Allergy Action Plans
- Storing and accessing adrenaline medication
- Allergies and associated health conditions
- Food hypersensitivity, including food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease
- Food labelling
- Roles and responsibilities
- Policies and documents
- Staff training
- Inclusion and safeguarding
- Communicating with parents and carers
Practical session
- Correct use of trainer devices for EpiPen and Jext auto-injectors
- Correct use of the EURneffy nasal spray trainer
- When to give a second dose
- How a pupil’s own prescribed EURneffy sits alongside the school’s spare auto-injectors
- Basic life support and AED use during an anaphylactic emergency, following Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelines
EURneffy is licensed in two strengths: 1 mg for children aged 4 and over who weigh 15–30 kg, and 2 mg for people who weigh 30 kg or more. Spare school pens are still held under the 2017 medicines rules and the 2026 DfE guidance.
Legal Context and Guidance
The course maps to current education and medicines rules. Completing it gives you a staff training record you can show governors and inspectors. It does not replace your duty to publish a policy, hold spare devices or write Individual Healthcare Plans.
- Benedict’s Law: section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and section 100A of the Children and Families Act 2014. Schools must have, publish and review an allergy safety policy.
- DfE statutory guidance: Allergy safety in schools (July 2026), including whole-staff training, Individual Healthcare Plans and spare adrenaline auto-injectors.
- Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school
- Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017: purchase and emergency use of spare adrenaline auto-injectors
- Equality Act 2010: reasonable adjustments and non-discrimination
- Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelines: CPR and AED use in an anaphylactic emergency
Attendance Continuity and Late Arrival Policy
The practical session is assessed training with a set contact time. We and the awarding bodies that we are affiliated with enforce strict contact-time criteria. You must arrive fully prepared. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, we must turn you away. As a result, you will forfeit your place and all paid booking fees.
Complete the e-learning before the practical date. We cannot assess a learner who has not finished the online module.
How We Deliver It
- E-learning can be completed on any device, in the learner’s own time.
- The two-hour practical fits around the school day. Morning, afternoon or twilight on your site. Open practical sessions also run at our Knutsford centre.
- A private school booking is usually the better option. We train the whole staff together, walk the real kit locations and set scenarios around your dining hall, playground and off-site visits.
Assessment
E-learning
- Self-checks after each section. Learners must score 100% to move on.
- Final multiple-choice assessment. Pass mark 80%. Maximum of three attempts.
- On a pass, learners can download a certificate. Validity: 1 year. Accreditation: CPD Group.
Practical session
- You must show the correct emergency sequence and use of an adrenaline auto-injector or EURneffy trainer, plus CPR and AED if the scenario requires it. Practical pass mark 100%.
Who Can Attend
- Minimum age 14. Learners aged 14 to 16 can gain the certificate. An employer must not treat them as the sole responsible person.
- Teaching and assessment are in English. As a guide, Level 2 Functional Skills or GCSE Grade 4 literacy helps. Contact us before booking if you need a reasonable adjustment.
- Open practical sessions need a minimum of six learners to run. We cap groups at 12 learners per instructor so everyone gets proper time on the devices.
Venues and Private Bookings
- Open practical sessions run at our training centre in Knutsford, Cheshire. Read the joining instructions for directions and parking.
- For a private practical on your site, request a quote on our Corporate and Bespoke Training Quotations page.
- If you want theory and practice in one visit, see the four-hour face-to-face Benedict’s Law course.
Related Training and Compliance Guides
- Face-to-face option: Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness for Schools (Benedict’s Law)
- Early years: Level 2 Award in Food Allergy Awareness – Early Years | E-learning
- General e-learning: Level 2 Award in Food Allergy Awareness | E-learning
- Kitchen leads: Level 3 Food Allergy Management for Managers and Supervisors | E-learning
- Emergency hardware: Are defibrillators a legal requirement for UK businesses?
- Inclusive safety: Case study: developing inclusive evacuation competency in schools
