Introduce a ‘School Allergy Safety Bill’ to Protect School Pupils with Allergies

Legislate to require and fund schools to hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors, provide mandatory allergy training for staff, and mandate an allergy policy in every school. We think this would help keep children with allergies safe at school and prevent avoidable deaths.

Studies estimate that 2 pupils per class have an allergy. We believe current legislation does not place demands on schools in relation to allergy which are specific enough. Our research suggests that 70% of schools in 2024 didn't have adequate allergy safeguards in place. Similar legislation to keep children with allergies safe in schools, like the School Allergy Safety Bill, is in place in parts of Canada, and there are coroners, clinicians, charities who recommend it is adopted here. We believe this law would keep children safe.

We recognise the importance of supporting pupils with allergies and will make improvements as part of our plans for a more inclusive mainstream SEND system. We have publicly committed to reviewing the statutory guidance on Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3 and propose opening consultation in the autumn to test the changes needed to reduce the current risks within the system. We wish to consider medical conditions holistically, including allergies.

The measures to support children with allergies envisioned in the Schools (Allergy Safety) Bill could be achieved without requiring primary legislation. We will consider how we might take them forward as part of this consultation.

The proposal for all schools to hold in-date Adrenaline Auto-Injectors would have important implications for the NHS. We will work with DHSC and NHS England to consider this further.

Department for Education