Health, Medical Needs and Allergy Safety
Allergy Safety at Norwood (Benedict's Law)
At Norwood Primary School, keeping children safe, happy and fully included in school life is at the heart of everything we do. For children living with allergies, this means making sure that the adults around them understand their needs, take sensible steps to reduce risks and know exactly what to do in an emergency.
From September 2026, new statutory requirements for allergy safety in schools came into effect, sometimes referred to as Benedict's Law. Norwood has a dedicated Allergy Safety & Anaphylaxis Policy and clear whole-school procedures to support children with allergies.
Our Designated Allergy Lead is Nicola Harris, Assistant Headteacher and member of the school's Safeguarding Team.
How we keep children safe
We ask parents and carers to tell us about any known allergies when their child joins Norwood and to let us know immediately if their child's allergy, medication or medical advice changes.
All children recorded on our Allergy Register have an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP). Where appropriate, this includes or links to an Allergy Action Plan provided by a healthcare professional. Relevant information is shared carefully with the members of staff who need it to keep the child safe.
Children who have been prescribed adrenaline devices have these kept readily accessible in their classroom, clearly labelled and alongside their individual plan. We also maintain spare adrenaline devices in school for emergencies, with both child and adult doses available.
Medication and expiry dates are regularly checked, and parents will be contacted when replacement medication is required.
Trained staff who know how to respond
All Norwood staff receive an annual allergy awareness and emergency-response update, including how to recognise an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis and what to do in an emergency.
Allergy safety is also included within the induction of new staff, and arrangements are in place to ensure that temporary, supply and
cover staff have the information they need.
If a child shows signs of anaphylaxis, staff will act immediately: adrenaline will be administered without delay and 999 will be called. A child who has received adrenaline will be transferred to hospital by ambulance, even if they appear to recover.
Reducing the risk of allergic reactions
Allergy safety is everyone's responsibility.
Across school, children are taught that food, drinks, containers and utensils must not be shared. This expectation applies at snack time, lunchtime, during activities, on trips and whenever children are eating together.
We ask families not to send nuts or products containing nuts into school. Birthday cakes, sweets and other birthday treats should also not be brought into school for children to share.
Although these measures help to reduce risk, no school can guarantee a completely allergen-free environment. This is why we combine sensible preventative measures with individual planning, staff training and robust emergency arrangements.
Our Local Authority catering team works closely with school. Kitchen staff have information, including photographs where appropriate, to help them safely identify children with known food allergies.
Teachers also consider allergies when planning activities involving food, cooking, science, art and craft, sensory materials, animals and other potential allergens.
Trips, visits and opportunities
Having an allergy should not prevent a child from enjoying the opportunities available at Norwood.
We make appropriate adjustments so that children with allergies can participate safely in lessons, celebrations, clubs, visits and other aspects of school life.
A child prescribed adrenaline will not leave school for an educational visit without their prescribed devices. Norwood also has dedicated emergency travel pouches containing spare child and adult adrenaline devices for school visits.
Wellbeing, inclusion and bullying
We recognise that living with an allergy can sometimes make children anxious or cause them to feel different from their friends. Our responsibility is not simply to manage the medical risk, but also to make sure children with allergies feel safe, understood and included.
This connects directly with our three school rules:
Be Ready. Be Respectful. Be Safe.
Children learn about allergy safety through assemblies and are taught why they must not share food and why another person's allergy must always be taken seriously.
Allergy-related teasing or bullying will be taken seriously. Deliberately exposing a child to a known allergen, threatening to do so, or attempting to make a child eat something they are allergic to will be treated as a serious behaviour and safeguarding concern and referred to our Safeguarding Team.
Learning and improving
All allergic reactions and allergy-related near misses are recorded and reviewed. A near miss might include, for example, the wrong food being given to a child but being identified before it is eaten.
This allows us to learn from what happened and, where necessary, strengthen an individual child's plan or our wider school procedures.
Allergy safety is monitored through our Safeguarding Team, with information about allergic reactions and near misses reported to governors through our safeguarding reporting arrangements.
How parents can help
Parents and carers play an essential part in helping us keep children safe. Please:
tell us about any allergy when your child joins Norwood;
tell us immediately if an allergy, medication or medical recommendation changes;
provide any prescribed medication and Allergy Action Plans requested by school;
replace medication promptly when we tell you it is approaching its expiry date;
do not send nuts or products containing nuts into school;
do not send birthday cakes, sweets or other birthday treats into school for children to share; and
reinforce with your child that food and drinks should never be shared with other children.
If you have any concerns about your child's allergy arrangements, please speak to your child's class teacher or contact the school office so that we can make sure the appropriate support is in place.
Our aim is simple: children with allergies should be able to come to Norwood feeling safe and confident, and enjoy the same learning, friendships and opportunities as every other child.