Under new plans announced on 5^th March, Government have confirmed that life-saving allergy pens must now be stocked by schools

The move will also see compulsory training for teachers and a requirement for each school to have a dedicated allergy policy.

As well as saving lives, the new measures will help children stay in school, with 500,000 days of learning lost due to allergy-related illness or medical appointments in the last year alone.

The plans come after the government listened to families and campaigners who have fought for change — including Helen Blythe, mother of Benedict Blythe, who tragically lost his life to an allergic reaction at school, and the National Allergy Strategy Group.

Replacing previous non-statutory advice, the consultation on the new guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergies is now open, ahead of coming into force in September 2026.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 1 May 2026

The new statutory requirements mean for the first time schools must:

• stock “spare” adrenaline auto-injectors for use in emergency situations
• provide allergy awareness training for all staff — covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response and the use of adrenaline devices — alongside improved incident recording and lessons learnt processes
• have a comprehensive policy for supporting children with medical conditions, including Individual Healthcare Plans to record specific arrangements for individuals like an allergy management plan

Schools up and down the country are already undertaking the necessary training to keep children safe. This guidance will standardise practise, pointing to a collection of reliable resources for teachers to use, and work in parallel to the government’s open call to businesses to support with costs such as adrenaline auto-injectors.

Researchers at the University of Surrey and the University of Manchester have launched the AltProt-P eObservatory to track allergic reactions to new types of food.

As we move toward more sustainable food production, new protein sources are becoming more common in our diets. These can include pea protein, lentils, chickpeas, beans, edible insects, seaweed and cultivated meat.

While these help the environment, they may pose new risks for the allergy community. They can trigger reactions in people with existing allergies or even cause people to develop brand-new ones.

The AltProt-P eObservatory (part of the EU “Giant Leaps” project) is collecting data to find out if these proteins are causing real-world reactions. This information will help create a “watch list” to ensure these foods are properly regulated and labelled in the future.

How to get involved

You can help by sharing your experiences and helping researchers understand the safety of these emerging foods.

Who can take part?

• If you are aged 16 years or older.
• Have experienced an adverse reaction to alternative proteins like peas, chickpeas, chia, pumpkin seeds, spirulina, Quorn, seaweed, or insects.

What does participation involve?

You will be asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire about yourself, your reactions to these new foods, and any existing “classical” food allergies you may have such as allergy to milk, egg and peanuts/treenuts.

The questionnaire can be accessed via the url https://redcap.surrey.ac.uk/surveys/ and by using the code TRPJ4YPRF.

What are the potential benefits of getting involved?

Participation helps improve the understanding of emerging allergies to alternative proteins. This data is vital for finding better ways to protect the public from accidental reactions and ensuring the safety of future food sources.

For further information, visit the Giant Leaps website or contact the team at altprotstudy@surrey.ac.uk