Benedict Blythe was five when he died in 2021 after a severe allergic reaction at school. The inquest into his death, which concluded in 2025, found that the school gave him the milk that caused the reaction, along with “a catalogue of failings” in how his allergy was managed. Benedict’s Law is the name given to the changes his family campaigned for: stronger requirements on allergy training for school staff, and on schools having emergency medication to hand.
This post covers what happened, what the law and guidance ask of schools, and what every adult in a school can do now. If you’re reading this in an emergency: give the child’s adrenaline auto-injector and call 999 at the same time. If there are two of you, one does each.
What happened to Benedict Blythe?
For schools, the important part is what the inquest found. The milk that caused Benedict’s reaction was given to him at school, and the failings it identified were in how the school managed his allergy. The presenter of our course puts it plainly: his death was preventable.
His family chose to turn that loss into change. They worked with clinicians, allergy charities and policy makers to close the gap between what schools are expected to know and do about allergies and the training staff actually get.
What is Benedict’s Law?
It builds on a duty schools in England already have. Since 2014, under the Children and Families Act, schools have had to support pupils with medical conditions, allergies included. That means a policy for supporting those pupils, properly trained staff, and individual healthcare plans for pupils who need them. The Department for Education’s guidance, Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions, sets out how.
Benedict’s Law strengthens that in two places: allergy-specific training for staff, and emergency adrenaline auto-injectors in school, with staff who know how to use them.
Check the precise requirements for yourself, including which schools they apply to and when they take effect. Guidance in this area has been changing. Look at the Department for Education’s current guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions and on allergies in schools before you rewrite your policy.
What does Benedict’s Law mean for schools?
Allergy awareness can’t sit with one person. It’s a safeguarding issue, and every adult in the building needs to be able to act.
A reaction can happen in a corridor, on a trip, at an after-school club or in the lunch queue. The adult who has to deal with it is whoever happens to be there, and that probably won’t be the first aider.
It has to be everybody for another reason. Some children having a severe reaction have never been diagnosed with an allergy at all, so there’s no healthcare plan and no warning. The adult who knows that child well, and notices something isn’t right, is the one who can act.
Young children also can’t keep themselves safe. They may not know what’s in their food or recognise the first signs of a reaction, and they’ll take food from a kind adult because they trust that adult has checked.
How do you recognise anaphylaxis?
Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction, and it can kill. Treat these signs as an emergency, because they affect breathing or circulation:
- difficulty breathing, wheezing, or a high-pitched noise when breathing in
- a tight or swollen throat, a hoarse or changed voice, a swollen tongue
- a weak pulse, dizziness, feeling faint, sudden paleness, floppiness or collapse
- loss of consciousness
Milder reactions look like itching, hives, redness, swelling of the lips or face, a runny nose or watery eyes, nausea or tummy pain. Take them seriously too. A mild reaction can become anaphylaxis within minutes, and a child who has only ever had mild reactions can have a severe one next time.
Younger children often can’t tell you what’s happening. Watch for a child who suddenly goes quiet, scratches at their skin, pulls at their collar or looks pale and distressed for no obvious reason.
What to do in an allergy emergency
If you see any sign of anaphylaxis, act straight away. Don’t wait to see if it settles.
- Give the adrenaline auto-injector into the outer thigh (it can go through clothing) and call 999, as close to the same moment as you can. If there are two of you, one does each. If you’re on your own, shout for help and don’t leave the child.
- Lay the child down with their legs raised. If they’re struggling to breathe, let them sit up slightly.
- Stay with them and keep them calm.
- If there’s no improvement after five minutes and a second auto-injector is there, give the second dose.
When the paramedics arrive, tell them what the child was exposed to if you know, when the symptoms started, what was given and at what time.
Our Benedict’s Law course goes through these steps, including how to use an auto-injector without hesitating.
Most people hesitate because they’re afraid of getting it wrong. The Anaphylaxis Campaign, Resuscitation Council UK and the NHS all say the same thing: if you suspect anaphylaxis, give the adrenaline. Giving it to a child who didn’t need it carries far less risk than not giving it to a child who did. Auto-injectors are made to be used by people without medical training, so if you’re the adult there, don’t wait for someone more qualified.
For a milder reaction: move the child away from the allergen if you know what it is, stay with them, send for the first aider or medical lead (tell whoever goes the child’s name, so they can bring the right records), and follow the child’s healthcare plan. Then keep watching closely.
What your school needs to do now
Most of this is everyday habit rather than paperwork. A few things to check:
- Every pupil with a diagnosed severe allergy has an individual healthcare plan, written with the family, with a photo, their triggers, their medication and what to do in an emergency. It’s reviewed every year and whenever something changes.
- The adults who see that pupil have actually read the plan, and know where the medication is kept. It should be quick to reach, not locked in a cupboard nobody has the key to.
- Pupils with severe allergies have two auto-injectors, and they go wherever the pupil goes, trips included.
- Your school knows whether it holds spare auto-injectors for emergencies. Schools are allowed to under the Human Medicines Regulations, on the conditions set out in the guidance, and your allergy policy should say how they’re used.
- The dining hall has accurate ingredient information, and catering staff know which pupils have which allergies. Staff should feel fine about checking, especially with a new dish or an unfamiliar face serving.
- Food in classrooms (birthdays, rewards, food technology, science) is planned for, with parents told in advance.
- Trip risk assessments include allergies, and at least one adult on every trip is trained in anaphylaxis response.
- Every member of staff, not just first aiders, has had allergy awareness training, and those who can have done hands-on practice with a trainer device.
And ask families. Parents know which brands are safe and how their child behaves when something’s wrong.
Benedict’s Law training and allergy awareness training for schools
Online training won’t replace hands-on anaphylaxis first aid, and it shouldn’t try to. What it can do is reach the whole staff, including the ones who never get sent on the first aid course, so that every adult knows the signs and the steps.
Our course, Understanding Benedict’s Law: Allergy Awareness and Safety in Schools, takes about half an hour and is for every member of staff: teachers, TAs, lunchtime supervisors, office and site staff. It covers the 14 major allergens, how to tell when a mild reaction is becoming anaphylaxis, how to use an auto-injector without hesitating, and the habits that stop reactions happening. It comes with a staffroom poster and a class allergy record for cover staff.
If you need allergy training as part of wider medical conditions training, there’s also Medical Conditions Training: Allergy Awareness. More on pupil health is on our health and wellbeing topic page.