Benedict’s Law Comes into Force From September 2026

Following the passing of Benedict’s Law (the School Allergy Act 2026 under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026), the DfE statutory guidance on allergies in schools has been published which comes into force in September 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allergy-safety-in-schools

As a summary of its key requirements which apply to all schools, without exception (please note that independent schools have until Easter 2027 to fully implement while all other schools must implement from 1st September 2026):

• Policy: Schools must have an Allergy policy which is communicated to all relevant parties, including being published on the school website and being made available internally for all relevant persons;

• Leadership: A named senior leader should be responsible for the management of allergies in the school;

• Action Plans: Dedicated allergy action plans must be created for all pupils with known allergies of any type;

• Training: All 'pupil-facing personnel' (including staff/cover teachers/invigilators/visitors/volunteers/contractors etc) must have annual training on allergy awareness and use of autoinjectors (the Handsam etraining course for Allergy Awareness and Use of Auto Injectors will fulfil this obligation – please ensure you assign it to all relevant ‘pupil-facing’ personnel);

• Provision of ‘Spare’ Auto-Injectors: Schools must assess how many spare auto-injectors they need (including supporting school trips) and where they should be stored so they are easily accessible (please not this must also include support for school trips). The Handsam quick guide RAS107 (available in the Handsam Quick Guides Library)can assist with this assessment. The number of auto-injectors decided upon in the assessment must be available as a minimum;

• Location of ‘Spare’ Auto-Injectors: Adrenaline devices should be no more than five minutes away from wherever they might be needed (ideally closer); and

• Annual allergy drill: An annual allergy drill must take place (like a fire drill), with records kept and learning points evidenced to be being addressed (also true for any incidents or near misses).

As well as the e-training course mentioned above which is available via the Handsam etraining centre, the Handsam compliance tasklist has been updated with tasks to prompt the delivery of each of the new requirements. These tasks are in the new category of ‘Allergy Management’. No tasks have been assigned to your staff at the moment so these tasks will nee to be reviewed by a tasklist Administrator and assigned to the right personnel, who may then need some further training in order to be able to deliver and evidence the tasks.

Any allergy incident and the annual drill can be recorded on the Handsam Medical Log.

Please contact Handsam’s client support team via info@handsam.co.uk for any support needs you may have around this vital topic or if you would like a demonstration of any of the modules of the Handsam system which will support you in delivering these new compliance requirements

Handsam has several guidance documents regarding Benedicts Law and Natasha's Law - these are available to download on the Handsam System using the topic terms, Allergies, Benedict's Law and Natasha's Law