How education technology can help you meet the new allergy legislation and DfE statutory guidance this September.
Until now, keeping pupils safe from allergic reactions has been left almost entirely up to individual schools, with no consistent standard to work from. But according to the REACT report, on average 1 to 2 children in your classroom could have a food allergy, so being prepared for an allergy emergency isn’t optional.
That’s where Benedict’s Law comes in.
From September, a new set of regulations will help keep the estimated 680,000 pupils in English schools with allergies safe, and give your staff the confidence to act if a reaction happens.
That means peace of mind for your team, parents, and pupils.
EdTech has a real role to play here. Used well, it can make the new Benedict’s Law regulations easier to implement. To help you get there, we’ve pulled key insights from two experts who know this space well: Simon Lowe from Handsam, and Yvonne Cooper from First Aid Forms.Â
A breakdown of Benedict’s Law
Benedict’s Law, also known as the School Allergy Safety Bill, comes into force from September 2026. The UK government introduced the framework after years of campaigning by the parents of 5-year-old Benedict Blythe, who died from an allergic reaction at school in 2021.
Yvonne Cooper from First Aid Forms puts it simply:
“Benedict’s story has genuinely stayed with me. If there was one thing I wish every person that works in schools knew, it would be this: School is one of the most common locations for severe allergic reactions outside of the home.“
Who does the law apply to?
The law applies to schools in England, including:
- State-funded primary and secondary schools
- Academies and free schools
- Special schools and alternative provision settings
- Independent schools
What are the requirements of Benedict’s Law?
A national framework for allergy safety in schools. You’ll be expected to:
- Train all pupil-facing personnel, not just first aiders. That includes contractors such as catering and cleaning staff, music teachers, sports coaches, volunteers, and governors.
- Stock spare emergency adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), not just the ones supplied by students.
- Have a comprehensive medical conditions policy, including Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs) for every pupil with a diagnosed allergy, and improved incident recording
This matters even for pupils with no known allergy. An estimated 30% of anaphylactic reactions in schools happen in children with no prior history of food allergies.
Simon from Handsam describes how:
“Benedict’s Law brings a fundamental change to how schools must be prepared to support pupils with known allergies but, crucially, also for unforeseen anaphylactic incidents.“
Who needs to be involved?
This isn’t just for first aiders and Senior Leadership Teams (SLT), your whole school needs to be up to speed. Simon sees this tripping schools up often:
“Many schools do not understand that the implementation has to be overseen by a senior member of staff who keeps records, makes regular checks and also oversees an annual allergy drill (like a fire drill) to test the veracity of the school’s procedures.“
Why implementing this on your own is harder than it sounds
On paper, these requirements are straightforward. In practice, you’re likely working against a handful of familiar problems and you’re not alone: the REACT report found that a third of schools don’t have an allergy policy in place at all, and almost half don’t stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors. This plays out as:
- Allergy records, IHPs, and injector stock that fall out of date the moment nobody’s tracking them
- Data that’s hard to keep current as pupils move year groups, join mid-year, or have their allergies change
- Training that’s difficult to source consistently, and even harder to evidence when it’s spread across a whole staff body
- Allergy information is stored in disconnected systems, so the person who needs it in the moment isn’t always the one who has it
- Getting genuine buy-in from everyone, from lunchtime supervisors to supply staff to teaching assistants
Yvonne emphasises the difficulties schools face in consistent communication and recording:
“Often the awareness of each child’s needs was not communicated universally to all school staff. Also, schools have not generally been very consistent with recording allergy incidents, so opportunities to improve allergy risks have historically been missed.“
Where EdTech fits in
None of this needs to be complicated. Here’s how the right technology can help you:
- Keeps allergy records, IHPs, and injector stock accurate and flagged for review automatically
- Updates allergy information as pupils change year groups or join mid-year
- Tracks training completion across your whole school, with records ready to show at inspection
- Centralises allergy data so the person who needs it in the moment can find it
- Automates what used to be a paper form, so it’s something staff will actually use
- Gives you a starting point, with built-in guidance and ready-made templates
Yvonne highlights the clear benefits schools will gain:
“Edtech gives schools a streamlined process for recording incidences of allergy, anaphylaxis, and allergy near-misses. Having this data means that you can easily spot hazard trends, and the government can see the scale of allergy risk in schools.“
What that looks like in practice:
First Aid Forms have introduced a dedicated Allergy and Anaphylaxis module, including Allergy Near Miss Reporting, a new dedicated feature on the app that you can use without purchasing the full First Aid Forms platform.
Handsam have introduced an allergy risk assessment to establish what provision each setting needs, an allergy record and incident logging system covering near misses, and an allergy and auto-injector training course that can be assigned to every pupil-facing member of staff, all synced from your MIS via Wonde, to help evidence compliance with Benedict’s Law. (Wonde clients get preferential rates.)
Working Benedict’s Law into your digital infrastructure
Once you’ve found the tech that’ll help you meet Benedict’s Law, it’s important that it’s connected and working together, not sitting in separate systems that don’t talk to each other.
Wonde connects 30,000+ UK schools to 700+ apps. As the connection between your MIS and your apps, it enables centralised management that helps you:
- Discover your EdTech, including trusted medical, safeguarding, and first aid apps
- Connect it in a few clicks, so the right allergy and pupil data reaches the right app automatically
- Control your data, manage access and security through a central School Portal
For schools working with allergy and safeguarding apps, that connection is exactly what keeps records accurate without extra admin.
Simon reflects on how Handsam connects through Wonde:
“When you enter your new pupil onto your MIS, Wonde will sync to Handsam’s database so that the medical conditions logged and details such as care plans are automatically available in the Handsam app. You’re now all ready to go! So simple.“
A handy checklist to help towards Benedict’s Law compliance
Here’s what we’d recommend you focus on this term, as you work towards meeting Benedict’s Law:
- Audit your current allergy process
- Check whether your training records cover all staff
- Confirm your Individual Healthcare Plans are up to date for the new school year
- Review whether your current systems could evidence any of this at inspection
- Connect your existing apps to your MIS through Wonde
- Discover additional medical, first aid, and safeguarding apps that could support you with Benedict’s Law
Explore the apps mentioned, and others that will help your school prepare for Benedict’s Law, on Wonde Discover.
For more information on Benedict’s Law, visit their website or read the REACT report by the Institute of Clever Stuff and Benedict Blythe Foundation.