Benedict’s Law Moves Decisively Forward as Government Commits to Mandatory School Allergy Guidance and Lords Prepare to Vote - BSACI
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Benedict’s Law Moves Decisively Forward as Government Commits to Mandatory School Allergy Guidance and Lords Prepare to Vote

Benedict’s Law — the campaign to make schools safe for children with allergies — reaches a pivotal moment as peers prepare to debate and vote on a landmark House of Lords amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

New statutory guidance for schools on managing allergies

Ahead of the vote and in response to widespread cross-party and sector support for Benedict’s Law, the Government has now committed to consulting on and publishing new mandatory, statutory guidance for schools on managing medical conditions and allergies. This was announced by Jacqui Smith, Baroness Smith of Malvern at the dispatch box during the Lords debate on 3rd February 2026.

The guidance, being developed by Minister Bailey and the Department for Education, is intended to deliver the core protections long called for by families, clinicians and allergy charities — including access to emergency medication, staff training, and clear school allergy policies.

Campaigners say this commitment marks a major breakthrough in an area that has been neglected for years, and reflects the growing momentum behind Benedict’s Law. However, they stress that while statutory guidance is essential, it’s also important to make this law to further guarantee these measures are implemented in every school.

Making this law

Peers voted on the amendment during the Bill’s Report Stage on 3rd Feb 2026. With both legislative action and new statutory guidance now on the table, campaigners say England is closer than ever to delivering Benedict’s Law and making schools safer for all children with allergies.

Benedict’s Law is named in memory of five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who died from anaphylaxis at school in 2021. Since his death, his family has worked alongside allergy charities, clinicians and patient groups across the UK to press for urgent, practical changes to prevent further tragedies.

For more than a decade, the allergy community has consistently called for the same evidence-based measures to protect children at school as Benedict’s Law, which includes:

  1. spare adrenaline auto-injectors and devices
  2. comprehensive allergy and anaphylaxis training for all school staff, and
  3. clear, whole-school allergy policies supported by individual care plans for pupils with allergies.

Despite the rising prevalence of childhood allergies, until now these safeguards have remained optional, resulting in a postcode lottery of protection and avoidable risk for families.

The Lords amendment would put the core aims of Benedict’s Law into legislation by placing a legal duty on schools to:

  1. hold accessible spare adrenaline auto-injectors
  2. ensure staff receive allergy awareness and emergency response training
  3. implement individual allergy action plans, and
  4. adopt and publish a whole-school allergy policy.

Childhood allergies affect hundreds of thousands of children in England, and schools are recognised as one of the most common settings for first-time severe allergic reactions outside the home. Clinicians warn that delays in recognising the symptoms of anaphylaxis, lack of training and inconsistent access to medication remain critical factors putting children at risk.

Allergy organisations welcome the Government’s commitment to strengthening statutory guidance and the leadership shown by Minister Bailey in addressing long-standing gaps in school allergy safety. However, they emphasise that placing these protections in law is the only way to ensure that guidance is applied consistently and that every child is protected, regardless of where they go to school. 

Helen Blythe, Benedict’s mother, said:  

“We are excited that the campaign for Benedict’s Law has taken a huge step forward. We are pleased that the government has brought forward this guidance in response to the clear and widespread support for our amendment in the Lords.  After a decade of work by clinicians and allergy charities calling for the same life-saving measures, we’re at the stage of being able to say that Benedict’s Law is on its way, with two clear paths to take us there. To have this in place to protect pupils like our son would be a real legacy to Benedict’.

Professor Adam Fox OBE, Chair of the National Allergy Strategy Group, said:

‘At long last, we are seeing real progress around keeping children with allergies safer in school. Change has been needed urgently for many years to prevent further unnecessary deaths. This incredible progress after so many years of campaigning is a huge testament to the work of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, whose activism has built on many years of work by allergy charities including Allergy UK, Anaphylaxis UK and the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation together with healthcare professionals at the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology. It has been truly inspiring to see the whole allergy community come together behind this cause and achieve real change.’

Notes to editors

  1. Benedict’s Law calls for mandatory allergy pens, allergy training, and allergy policies in every school.
  2. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently at Report Stage in the House of Lords and was proposed by Alicia Kearns MP and tabled by Baroness Morgan of Coates.
  3. The Government has committed to consulting on and publishing new mandatory statutory guidance on medical conditions and allergies in schools this year.

Press enquiries to Helen Blythe

email: [email protected]