Benedict’s Law: What Children’s Activity Providers Need to Know
New allergy safety requirements come into force in schools this September. Here’s what children’s activity providers need to know – and why allergy safety matters for every child in your care.
For families of children living with severe allergies, knowing that their child will be safe while they are away from home can be a huge source of anxiety.
That’s why the introduction of new statutory allergy safety requirements in schools is such an important development.
From 1 September 2026, new statutory guidance on allergy safety will apply to schools in England. The changes, widely referred to as “Benedict’s Law”, strengthen expectations around allergy awareness, prevention and emergency response in schools.
But there is one particularly important point for everyone working with children:
Allergy safety isn’t just about children with a known allergy
It can be tempting to think of allergy procedures as something that applies only to children whose parents have already told you they have an allergy.
It doesn’t.
A child can experience their first allergic reaction while in your care, even if they have no known or diagnosed allergy.
The Department for Education’s new guidance highlights that around one in five children and young people with allergy have their first allergic reaction while in a school, college or early years setting. The guidance therefore makes clear that it is not sufficient to organise allergy safety measures only around children with a known allergy.
A child may never have experienced a reaction before, their parents may not know that they are allergic, or they may encounter a particular allergen for the first time.
For children’s activity providers, this is a crucial message:
You cannot assume that a child is not at risk simply because they don’t have a known allergy.
Good allergy safety isn’t just about knowing which children have allergies. It’s about making sure your whole team is prepared to recognise and respond appropriately if any child experiences an allergic reaction.
That includes children attending a one-off session, a holiday club, a taster activity, a party or an activity where you have limited previous information about them.
So, does Benedict’s Law apply to activity providers?
Not automatically.
The new statutory requirements are primarily directed at maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units. They do not mean that every independent children’s activity provider is suddenly subject to exactly the same statutory requirements as a school.
However, many activity providers work within schools, alongside schools or on behalf of schools.
That includes providers delivering:
- Breakfast clubs
- After-school clubs
- Wraparound care
- Holiday clubs
- Sports and physical activity
- Dance and performing arts
- Music and creative activities
- Tuition and educational activities
- Community and enrichment programmes
For these providers, understanding the school’s new allergy arrangements – and making sure your own procedures work alongside them – is increasingly important.
And even where the statutory requirements do not directly apply to your organisation, the principles behind them provide a valuable benchmark for good practice.
What is changing in schools?
From September 2026, schools will have strengthened statutory requirements around allergy safety.
These include having an allergy safety policy, ensuring staff have appropriate awareness and emergency-response training, making arrangements for children with allergies, and ensuring appropriate access to adrenaline auto-injectors where required.
Schools will also need to consider allergy safety across the wider school experience, including activities and trips away from the classroom.
The aim is not simply to respond to an allergic reaction when it happens. The guidance places emphasis on preventing avoidable exposure, recognising risk and making sure staff know how to respond quickly in an emergency.
And importantly, preparedness needs to extend beyond children who are already known to have allergies.
What does this mean if you operate in a school?
If your business delivers activities in a school, now is a good time to have a conversation with your school contact.
Ask:
“How will your new allergy safety arrangements affect our provision?”
You may want to establish:
- What allergy information will be shared with your staff?
- How will Individual Healthcare Plans be communicated?
- Who is responsible for a child’s prescribed medication?
- Where are adrenaline auto-injectors stored?
- Who can access them during your sessions?
- What should your staff do if a child has an allergic reaction?
- Which members of your team need allergy awareness or emergency-response training?
- What arrangements apply when your activities take place away from the school site?
- What are the school’s expectations if your activity involves food?
Do not assume that because you are operating on school premises, the school’s procedures automatically cover everything your own staff need to know.
You should be clear about where the responsibilities of the school end and those of your organisation begin.
What if Benedict’s Law doesn’t directly apply to my business?
That doesn’t mean allergy safety can be ignored.
As a children’s activity provider, you have responsibilities for the safety and wellbeing of the children in your care. The new DfE guidance provides a useful benchmark for reviewing your own approach to allergy management – even where the statutory requirements do not directly apply to your organisation.
A useful question to ask is:
If a child had their first-ever allergic reaction during one of our sessions today, would every member of our team know what to do?
If the answer is anything other than a confident yes, it may be time to review your procedures.
Five things to check before September
1. Make sure your registration process captures known allergies
Do you collect clear information about children’s allergies when they book?
Make sure important allergy information is easy for the relevant staff to access and isn’t buried somewhere in a registration system that nobody checks during a session.
But remember: this is only part of your allergy safety strategy.
A registration form cannot tell you which child might experience their first allergic reaction.
2. Make sure your staff can recognise an allergic reaction
Your team should understand what anaphylaxis can look like and know how to respond.
This matters even if you don’t currently have a child with a known allergy attending your session.
Ask yourself:
Would a new member of staff know what to do if a child suddenly developed difficulty breathing, swelling or other symptoms of a serious allergic reaction?
3. Check your emergency procedures
Your emergency arrangements should work in the real world – not just on paper.
Think about what happens during:
- A normal session
- Outdoor activities
- Trips
- Holiday clubs
- Sports activities
- Off-site activities
- Busy arrival and collection periods
And crucially, think about the scenario where there is no known allergy and no adrenaline auto-injector available because this is the child’s first reaction.
Would your team recognise what was happening? Would they know how to respond and summon emergency help quickly?
4. Review food and allergen controls
If your organisation provides food, snacks or cooking activities, review your allergen procedures.
Consider:
- How allergen information is collected
- How it is communicated to staff
- How food is prepared and served
- Cross-contamination
- Ingredients and food labelling
- What happens when parents provide food
- What happens during parties or special events
Don’t assume that simply asking a parent whether their child has an allergy is sufficient.
You need a process that allows your team to act on the information safely, while also recognising that not every allergy can be identified in advance.
5. Talk to your school partners
For providers working with schools, communication is particularly important.
Make sure there is a clear route for information to move between:
Parent → School → Activity Provider
and, where appropriate:
Activity Provider → School → Parent
If a child has an Individual Healthcare Plan, make sure you understand how the information relevant to your session will be communicated to you.
But don’t let good information-sharing create a false sense of security. The absence of an allergy record doesn’t mean there is no risk.
The key message for children’s activity providers
The introduction of Benedict’s Law represents an important shift towards recognising allergy safety as a fundamental part of keeping children safe.
For children’s activity providers, the message isn’t simply:
“Does this law apply to me?”
A better question is:
“Are our allergy procedures good enough to keep every child safe – including a child experiencing their first allergic reaction?”
Because you won’t always know which child is at risk.
A child could have an allergy that has never been identified. They could encounter an allergen for the first time. Or they could experience their first reaction while taking part in your activity.
Being prepared isn’t just about protecting the children whose allergies you already know about. It’s about being ready for the child whose allergy you don’t know about yet.
September is a good opportunity to review your procedures, talk to your school partners and make sure your whole team knows how to recognise and respond to an allergic reaction.
For families, that confidence can make an enormous difference.
Allergy training
If you or your team would like to develop your understanding of allergy safety and anaphylaxis, High Speed Training currently offers a free online Allergy & Anaphylaxis Training for Schools course.
The one-hour course covers recognising allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, responding in an emergency, administering adrenaline, common allergens, allergy procedures and the impact of allergies on children’s wellbeing. It has been updated in line with the new DfE statutory guidance and is City & Guilds Assured, CPD accredited and endorsed by Natasha’s Foundation. A digital certificate and 1 CPD point are provided on completion.
Although the course is designed for school settings, much of the content is highly relevant to anyone working with children, particularly providers delivering activities in or alongside schools.
Access the free Allergy & Anaphylaxis Training for Schools course
Please note: ICAP is sharing this as a useful training resource and does not endorse or require completion of this particular course. Providers should consider their own training needs and responsibilities.
Further information
The Department for Education’s Allergy Safety in Schools statutory guidance is available on GOV.UK and comes into effect on 1 September 2026. Allergy safety in schools – GOV.UK.
For more information about Benedict’s Law, the campaign and the work of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, visit the Benedict Blythe Foundation website.
You can also read Benedict’s story and learn more about the circumstances that led his family to campaign for stronger allergy safety measures.
Benedict’s story is a deeply sad reminder of the importance of taking allergy safety seriously. For everyone working with children, it highlights why appropriate training, robust procedures and a culture of safe and responsible practice matter – not only for children with known allergies, but for every child in our care.
ICAP members should seek appropriate professional advice if they are unsure how the requirements apply to their specific organisation or contractual arrangements.