Allergy safety in schools statutory guidance outlines what schools must do to support pupils with allergies. It includes information and examples that schools can use to:
- Create and publish an allergy safety policy.
- Put allergy safety training in place for all staff.
- Identify the children and young people who require Individual Healthcare Plans (IHP) to manage their allergy, and to produce them.
- Record and learn lessons from serious incidents and near misses.
This is not statutory guidance for early years settings, but it will be of assistance for fulfilling wider statutory duties.
View Allergy Safety for further details explaining the new guidance.
I work in a school-run provision. Do I need to follow the Allergy safety in schools statutory guidance?
Yes, the guidance is statutory for schools and school-run early years provision, including section 27 pre-schools and nursery classes in schools.
I deliver in a private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) setting. Do I need to follow the Allergy safety in schools statutory guidance?
The guidance is statutory for schools. It will also be of assistance to other education providers as they fulfil their wider statutory duties, including early years settings. This means it is best practice to follow the guidance. Following the guidance will help you fulfil your wider statutory duties.
I work in a maintained nursery school. Do I need to follow the Allergy safety in schools statutory guidance?
This statutory guidance excludes maintained nursery schools. However, it will be of assistance to you as you fulfil your wider statutory duties.
Do I need to create a policy for Allergy Safety in a PVI setting?
It is best practice to have an allergy safety policy. The guidance includes an Allergy safety policy – template, Size: 582KB File format: pdf. There are also model allergy policies for education settings. Ensure the policy is accessible to staff, parents, and carers. Review and update the policy regularly to reflect current best practice and children’s needs.
Do my staff have to attend allergy training?
It is best practice for all staff to attend allergy awareness training. Remember, many cases of anaphylaxis in children occur without a prior diagnosed allergy.
Do all children with allergies need an individual healthcare plan?
Individual Healthcare Plans should be put in place for any child or young person who has a known allergy which requires active management, together with their Allergy and/or Asthma Action Plan. The IHP should specify their known allergens, what risk reduction measures are necessary and whether they have been prescribed adrenaline, including medical and parental consent to use “spare” adrenaline devices where appropriate.
Do schools/settings automatically take the lead in writing individual healthcare plans?
Individual Healthcare Plans are “owned” by the school, college or early years setting which the child or young person attends. While they may be informed by advice from healthcare professionals and may incorporate care or action plans provided by healthcare professionals, they are not clinical documents. They describe the arrangements to support the specific child or young person at the specific school, college or setting. If the child or young person moves, their new school, college or setting will need to draw up a new Individual Healthcare Plan. While it might be very similar, it needs to reflect the arrangements the new school, college or setting will put in place.
What is the difference between an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) and an Allergy Action Plan?
The IHP will set out the additional and/or different arrangements that will be in place in the school or early years setting for supporting the child or young person with their medical condition or allergy, including in emergencies. An allergy action plan is issued by healthcare professionals and should be attached to their IHP.
How do I contact my school nursing or health visiting service?
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Healthy Child Programme - Health Visiting and School Nursing Service.
Can we insist that parents come into school to administer medication, or provide medical support?
The guidance gives examples of unacceptable practice including requiring parents/carers, or otherwise making them feel obliged, to attend the school, college or setting to administer medication or provide medical support to their child.
Do I need to worry about nut oils in suncream and soaps?
The most common causes of "whole body" reactions – including anaphylaxis – are:
- Foods, for example, peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk/dairy foods, egg, wheat, fish/shellfish, and sesame.
- Insect stings, for example, bees, wasps.
- Medication, for example, antibiotics, pain medicines such as ibuprofen.
- Latex, for example, rubber gloves, balloons, swimming caps.
Even for food allergy, the vast majority of anaphylaxis reactions require the person to have eaten the food, although less severe allergic reactions can happen through skin or other contact. Anaphylaxis reactions due to skin contact are very rare.
As part of your allergy policy, you may want to consider which suncream and soaps you will use in your setting.
If I have a child in my school/setting with an anaphylactic reaction, is it better to ban all food containing that substance from the setting, and/or control what food is in the setting by restricting lunchboxes?
Anaphylaxis UK advises against blanket bans in environments like schools or early years settings, as they can induce a false sense of security. Instead, they advocate for an allergy-aware culture.
