Like for all schools, the health and safety of our pupils is our priority.
However, with the number of children in our setting with recognised allergies growing year on year, we realised we needed to establish a robust “allergy-safe” approach and solution for our staff, pupils and their families.
Two events brought this into focus. The first was during our annual first-aid training, when it became apparent that not every colleague felt confident handling severe allergic reactions after there were some questions around how to best support pupils with allergies.
While we follow national guidelines for allergy awareness and our medicines policy is clear, staff needed greater opportunities to put theory into practice or learn about handling situations like anaphylaxis.
The second event was a parent approaching me about her child’s life-threatening allergies. She wanted to know our understanding of anaphylaxis, our emergency procedures and whether we were aware of the government’s guidance around spare adrenaline auto-injectors.
Combined, these events made clear the need for a deeper review. This is how we did it.
Our school’s allergy awareness approach
Compulsory training with expert resources
We began by tailoring our training offer. We wanted to go beyond limiting allergy awareness to a short section in annual first-aid training and instead embed it into our practice and protocol through introducing in-depth standalone training sessions. These were compulsory sessions for all our colleagues, and we’ll be delivering them annually going forward.
To create these sessions, we used expert resources from Anaphylaxis UK, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) to share leading expertise and best practice on allergy and anaphylaxis prevention and response. We also signposted additional resources from these organisations for staff to review further to be best equipped.
Every staff member was also given time to complete the , which is backed by Anaphylaxis UK. This is offered at no extra cost to schools that are signed up to the professional development package with the National College, providing a cost-effective way for us to expertly train all of our staff.
Not only does this course cover food allergies, it also provides training on a wide range of common triggers and potential reactions that could affect our pupils.
Building confidence for emergency situations
All staff took part in practical training, too, which we plan to refresh annually. This included the chance to use trainer epi-pens, which can be supplied free to schools, to allow staff to practise how to administer auto-injectors. This hands-on approach helped staff to familiarise themselves with routine use and build real confidence for an emergency.
We made sure meetings benefitted everyone, including teachers, teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors and catering and office staff, so that we all had the same high-quality knowledge and confidence.
Alongside training, we updated our medicine request forms using model templates from the BSACI, implemented new assembly resources for sharing best practice and purchased two emergency kits with spare pens: one for the school building and one for external trips. This helped to action our awareness into everyday school policy.
Embedding a whole-school culture
Although our focus was on staff, we knew it was vital to bring pupils along as part of a whole-school approach.
We created tailored assemblies and classroom discussions explaining the importance of medical kits, why they needed to be kept safe and what we do in an emergency.
As a result, we began to see more and more pupils taking an interest and we’re confident that our children now know how to act safely and responsibly. These assemblies won’t be a one-off either - we will regularly return to this topic to keep it fresh in children’s minds.
Sharing our work with our trust
We’ve already seen a hugely positive response from our whole community and are proud to be a truly “allergy-aware” school, not simply “nut-free”. Our staff feel empowered to act swiftly and calmly in the case of an emergency, and our parents and carers are confident that their child is learning in a safe and understanding environment.
We are now working with our other schools within Penrose Learning Trust to reinforce allergy awareness training through hosting in-person, cross-trust information sessions, which share best practice and signpost resources.
We would encourage other schools to do the same, because allergy awareness is not simply a “nice to have” - it is a critical element of school safety.
Sarah Skillern is head of school at Great Bentley Primary School in Essex, which is part of Penrose Learning Trust
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