Millions of children at risk as shocking number of teachers lack allergy training
A new programme of free resources for every primary school is being launched to protect children with food allergies.
Last updated 11th Feb 2025
All Primary schools are being given access to new allergy awareness resources, as research reveals a staggering number of teachers have never received allergy awareness training.
The programme comes from the foundation set up in memory of 15-year-old Natash Ednan-Laperouse, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction in 2016.
A survey of 1,900 teachers by the NASUWT teachers' union, in collaboration with The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF), found 95% have children with food allergies in their schools, yet 67% have had no formal allergy training. The figures expose a critical gap in knowledge which could be the difference between life and death in an allergy emergency.
Furthermore, one in five teachers has never been taught how to use an adrenaline auto-injector - an essential, life-saving tool in the event of a severe allergic reaction, and (60%) don't know if their school even has an allergy policy, highlighting a shocking lack of readiness in educational settings.
20% of all food allergy reactions occur in schools, and hospital admissions for food-induced anaphylaxis has tripled in the last 20 years.
The NARF has now launched Allergy School, a £1 million initiative designed to transform food allergy education in nurseries, primary schools, and out-of-school clubs across the UK.
What will the Allergy School initiative include?
Developed in partnership with The King's Foundation, St John Ambulance, the children's charity Coram Life Education, and Tesco Stronger Starts, Allergy School offers free, practical resources for teachers and school staff, including:
- Training on how to recognise and respond to allergic reactions
- Educational films, quizzes, and first aid advice
- Lesson plans and assembly packs for Key Stages 1 and 2
- A self-assessment tool to help schools improve their allergy policies
- Engaging content featuring real-life stories from children and teachers
What do schools say?
Allergy training and awareness varies greatly from school to school across Lancashire. While some have robust programmes in place, others have had no formal training in how to deal with anaphylaxis at school.
Amanda Davidson is the Allergy Lead at St Mary's Primary school in Leyland, which is a nut-free school where all staff are trained to respond in an emergency allergy situation: "It's vital that staff understand allergies and how to manage them and support them. At the school I work at now, it's a requirement that every staff member in school, no matter their role, does have that training around anaphylaxis and using adrenaline pens.
"We have a kit in school, from a company called Kitt Medical, that includes adrenaline pens which can be used on children with diagnosed allergies, but also in the emergency event that a child has an unknown allergy and is suffering from anaphylaxis.
"With that kit, each staff member gets training on how to understand what symptoms look like in the lead up to anaphylaxis and how to use the adrenaline pen, if needed. I think a lot of our staff have found that training really useful because day to day, most people, unless they're affected personally, don't have an understanding of what to look for and what to do."
Amanda's own daughter is affected by food allergies, she told us this a welcome step forward from the perspective of the allergy community: "It's almost the answer to everything that I worried about from us knowing quite early on that she had allergies. The biggest worry was always about what happens when she goes to school or she goes to clubs and I'm not there? So to know that there's going to be systems in place and that this is improving - it's the reassurance I need."