Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) staff training and (b) equipment for the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis in schools.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, Academies and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions.

The accompanying statutory guidance, entitled Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions, makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed.

The guidance is clear that policy should include how it will be implemented, what should happen in an emergency situation and the role individual healthcare plans play in supporting pupils. The policy should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.

The department included a reminder to schools of these duties in its regular schools’ email bulletin in both March and September this year. In the same communication, the department also alerted schools to the newly created Schools Allergy Code. The Code was developed by The Allergy Team, Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA) and the Benedict Blythe Foundation, who are all trusted voices on the matter of allergies. The department has now also added a link to the Code to its online allergy guidance on GOV.UK.

Regarding equipment, in 2017, the Department of Health (now the Department of Health and Social Care) published non-statutory guidance to accompany a legislative change to allow schools to purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) from a pharmacy, without a prescription and for use in an emergency situation. This guidance is kept under review and gives clear advice to schools on the recognition and management of an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis, and outlines when and how an AAI should be administered for pupils in schools.