High Speed Training, a leading provider of online training and e-learning, has updated its free Allergy & Anaphylaxis courses for schools and education organisations across the UK to align with upcoming statutory requirements.
In March, the Department for Education released draft statutory guidance ‘Supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergy’. This is the guidance that implements Benedict’s Law, outlining the new requirements for schools starting from September 2026.
Created in partnership with industry experts, the course, which is free to all education professionals in the UK, equips school staff with the confidence to recognise, prevent, and respond to allergic reactions. It outlines the most common allergens and the risk they pose in a school setting, as well as the procedures that schools should have in place to manage allergy risks.
The course is officially supported by Natasha’s Foundation, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding children with allergies. Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, Founder and Trustee of the Foundation, emphasises that allergy awareness is a critical responsibility for every adult in a school setting.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE (Natasha’s Foundation Founder & Trustee) says: “Everybody in schools needs to understand how to safeguard allergic children. We need training for everybody in schools, so it’s not the parents having to tell teachers how to keep their child safe. How can we expect people to safely look after children in their care if they’re not given the tools and resources with which to do it?”
Jan Parnell, Director of Education at the Natasha’s Foundation, adds: “Making sure that the whole school has allergy awareness training is essential. And particularly knowing how to respond to an allergy emergency. It’s sort of a non-negotiable really for all staff. So we’ve created really good high-quality resources, free to schools so that they can be supported in their safeguarding and also supported in their inclusive practice.”
The free course was created with Natalie Hopkins, Head of Training at Natasha’s Foundation. A parent to a child with life-threatening allergies herself, Natalie is a dedicated allergy and anaphylaxis trainer and is accredited in anaphylaxis by the Royal College of Nursing.
The comprehensive Allergy and Anaphylaxis for Schools course provides staff with the confidence to:
Identify common allergens and recognise the signs of life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Respond effectively in emergencies, including the proper administration of adrenaline auto-injectors.
Understand the wider impact of allergies, including mental health effects and “allergy bullying”.
Implement robust policies and documentation to ensure inclusive practice.
Gareth Greenwood, Strategic Partnerships Lead at High Speed Training
High Speed Training said: “With significant statutory changes coming this September, updating this course is a vital step in ensuring schools are fully equipped to keep children safe. We have created an expert-led course that will give school staff the knowledge and confidence to create safe environments for children and young people ahead of the new requirements.
“Teachers and educators are on the frontline when it comes to managing student health, and we know how challenging this can be, from both a workload and a budgetary perspective. By offering this course free of charge, we want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to this vital knowledge, removing the barriers to safety and ensuring that no school is left behind due to a lack of resources.
“To help schools to become compliant with the guidance, the course now includes details on the requirement to obtain spare adrenaline devices for use in an emergency, including how to safely store, access, and use them, information on how to run an anaphylaxis drill, record, and report allergy incidents and near misses, updated information regarding effective allergy safety policies in school, staff allergy safety training requirements and a compliance checklist.”
The course, which is endorsed by Natasha’s Foundation, can be taken for free by all UK education staff, and can be found by visiting High Speed Training’s Allergy & Anaphylaxis for Schools course
Alongside the free Allergy course, High Speed Training have created a free Safeguarding INSET pack, including advice on how to identify and report potential abuse and tips to create an effective safeguarding culture. The free pack, which has been shortlisted for a Teach Award and is fully customisable to suit all schools and age groups, can be downloaded by visiting www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/inset-pack.
Natasha’s Foundation also offers its Allergy School, supported by His Majesty the King and closely involved with the King’s Foundation. The Allergy School is a free toolkit designed to transform understanding of food allergies, helping children, teachers, and club leaders feel more confident around them. High Speed Training’s course is included within the toolkit.
