1.3.4 Allergies

Overview

Anaphylaxis is a severe life-threatening allergic reaction that can progress quickly. Visits can present unfamiliar food, venues, language barriers, insects and animals, often further from emergency help. This may increase the likelihood of exposure to allergens. In July 2026, the DfE released statutory guidance, Allergy Safety in Schools (July 2026), which applies in England. This requires schools to ensure staff have training and a policy for managing pupils with allergies. You must follow your establishment's allergy safety policy. Plan visits so that both staff and pupils with allergies can take part alongside their peers.

Key Arrangements

When planning a visit, you should ensure the following arrangements are in place:

Inclusion

Pupils with allergies should not be prevented from taking part or face unnecessary barriers. Asking a parent to attend to manage an allergy is unacceptable practice.

Risk Assessment

Consider allergies, and those at risk of anaphylaxis in your risk assessment- covering food, travel, activities, distance from emergency help and who is trained. Give consideration to first time or unknown allergies.

Healthcare Plans

Take the pupil's Individual Healthcare Plan and Allergy Action Plan on the visit and share them with the visit team, in line with data protection requirements.

Own Devices

Pupils at risk of anaphylaxis should carry their own adrenaline devices where they have been administered these, in date and within reach. Clinical advice is that they carry two.

Staff Awareness and Training

All staff need allergy awareness training that goes beyond first aid. Everyone on the visit should know who is at risk, the signs of anaphylaxis, where the devices are and how to use them.

Food and Providers

Share allergy information with providers, venues and caterers in writing before the visit, check understanding on arrival and when food is served. Keep pupils' own food labelled and separate from staff food.

Recording and Reporting

Record incidents and near misses involving allergy, and learn from them.

Planning for Allergy Safety

Start with who is in the group and what they need, and plan the visit around that. Check the establishment's record of pupils with allergy, including who has an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) or an Allergy Action Plan, and ask about allergies in adults on the visit. For residential, adventurous and overseas visits, collect updated information as part of visit-specific consent, as set out in the Medication section. Remember that anyone can have a first reaction, including staff and pupils with no known allergy. Where an activity uses a material that may contain an allergen, find an alternative for the whole group rather than excluding one pupil, and do not seat pupils with allergies apart at mealtimes.

Risk Assessment

The risk assessment should name the pupil and the specific risks of the visit. Recording that a pupil has an allergy is not enough. Using the STAGED approach, consider:

• Staffing: how many staff are trained, who carries the devices and who stays with the pupil
• Travel: whether devices are within reach on coaches, trains and minibuses, and what pupils will eat on the journey. Documentation requirements for travel overseas.
• Activity: whether it involves food, animals, plants, latex, craft materials or insects
• Group: how many pupils are at risk, their age and independence, and any history of reactions. Accidental exposure from room snacks.
• Environmental conditions: heat, cold and direct sunlight affect how devices are stored
• Distance: Language barriers. How long an ambulance would take, and whether adrenaline can reach a pupil within five minutes.

Adrenaline Devices on Visits

Adrenaline devices include adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs, such as EpiPen or Jext) and nasal adrenaline devices. At present, only AAIs can be held as school spares.

• Pupils must have their devices with them throughout, including while travelling. Devices must never be locked away
• Devices should be within reach of the pupil, or of a named adult close to them, so that they can be used within five minutes
• Check before departure that each device is in date and belongs to the pupil, and keep a copy of the Allergy Action Plan with the devices
• Store devices at room temperature, away from direct sunlight and extreme heat, and do not refrigerate them. If the liquid inside is cloudy, discoloured, or contains floating particles, do not use the device and replace it.

Spare Adrenaline Devices

The DfE guidance expects schools to hold spare devices on site, for use where a pupil's own devices are not available or fail, or where someone has a first time reaction. They are not a replacement for a pupil's own devices.

There is currently no blanket requirement to take spares on every visit. Consider it in the risk assessment, particularly for remote or residential, or where more than one pupil is at risk, and record the decision. Taking spares should not leave the school without cover. Label them clearly, check they are in date and have a trained adult carry them.

When you take spares:

• Carry them in a clearly labelled emergency kit with instructions, held by a named adult who is trained to use them
• Sign the kit out and back in, and check expiry dates before departure
• After use, hand the used device to the paramedics, record the incident and replace the device on return. AAIs contain needles, so dispose of them safely
• For overseas visits, check the rules on carrying medication for that country at the FCDO https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, check with the provider (if you are using one) and check with your school insurance. See also the section on Medication

Food, Providers and Travel

Food is the most common trigger of serious allergic reactions, but not the only one. Insect stings, medicines and latex can also cause them, so plan for more than food.

• Label packed lunches and drinks with the pupil's name, and keep staff food separate so that food is never given to the wrong person
• Avoid sharing food, utensils and containers, and check with parents before adding treats or celebration food
• Do not rely on nut free assurances alone, as nuts are only one of many allergens. Take an allergy aware approach instead
• Ask providers, caterers and venues for allergen information and about their emergency procedures, and do not assume they hold adrenaline devices. Check their understanding when food is served.
• Check activities for animals, latex and stinging insects

Staff Training

Allergy awareness training goes beyond first aid training. The DfE guidance expects all staff to receive it at least annually. For visits, make sure that every adult, including volunteers and cover staff, has had training or an equivalent briefing. They should know which pupils are at risk, the signs of anaphylaxis, where the devices are, who will give adrenaline and how to use the type of device the pupil carries. See the section on Training Requirements.

Recording and Reporting

Record every serious incident and near miss involving allergy on a visit, using your normal reporting system, such as EVOLVE Accidentbook. Tell parents about any suspected exposure on the day, as a reaction can be delayed. Review the risk assessment and the IHP after an incident. See the section on Recording and Reporting Incidents.

FAQs

Links to further reading:

DfE Allergy safety in schools https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allergy-safety-in-schools

OEAP National Guidance available at https://oeapng.info

Allergy Safety Toolkit - https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/toolkits/allergy-safety

EVOLVE Accidentbook - https://www.evolveadvice.co.uk/eab

MediMinder - https://mediminder.co.uk/