Free Allergy and Anaphylaxis Training Offered to UK Schools

Free Allergy Training Offered to All UK Schools After New Guidance

Schools across England are now required to provide allergy awareness training for all staff for the first time under new statutory guidance from the Department for Education.

The change highlights the growing importance of ensuring school staff understand how to manage allergies and respond to potentially life-threatening reactions.

However, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, has warned that schools will need financial support to meet the new expectations. Speaking to the BBC, Paul said each new requirement in the guidance needs funding and that “schools cannot be expected to fund from their budgets”.

Free Training Offered To Schools

In response, online training provider High Speed Training has announced it is offering its comprehensive Allergy & Anaphylaxis training course free of charge to all schools and education establishments in the UK.

More than 17,500 people have already completed the course and received certification.

The training is officially supported by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, an organisation set up following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse in 2016 after she suffered an allergic reaction.

The free course has been created with industry experts and aims to help school staff recognise allergic reactions, understand common allergens in school environments, and respond appropriately during emergencies.

The course is assured by City & Guilds and accredited by CPD. Education staff across the UK can access it for free through High Speed Training’s Allergy & Anaphylaxis for Schools course.

Calls For Better Understanding In Schools

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, founder and trustee of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said greater awareness across schools is essential.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse said:
“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 Allergy Research Foundation, also stressed the importance of whole school awareness.

Jan Parnell said:
“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.”

Developed With Allergy Specialists

The training course was created with Natalie Hopkins, an allergy trainer and parent of a child with life-threatening allergies. Natalie is accredited in anaphylaxis by the Royal College of Nursing.

Expert advice was also provided by Dr José Costa, a paediatric allergy consultant with more than 16 years of experience. Dr Costa holds a postgraduate certificate in Paediatric Allergy from Imperial College London and is a fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The course aims to give school staff the confidence to:

• Identify common allergens and recognise signs of life-threatening anaphylaxis

• Respond effectively in emergencies, including administering adrenaline auto-injectors

• Understand the wider impact of allergies, including mental health effects and “allergy bullying”

• Put policies and documentation in place to manage allergy risks in schools

Removing Barriers To Training

Gareth Greenwood, strategic partnerships lead at High Speed Training, said teachers are often on the frontline when dealing with student health issues.

Gareth Greenwood said:
“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.”

He added:
“Reaching 17,500 certified learners is a testament to the urgent need for this training, but it is also a reminder of the scale of the challenge we face in keeping children safe. We have created an expert-led course that will equip school staff with the knowledge and confidence to create safe environments for children and young people.”

Wider Support For Allergy Awareness

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation also provides Allergy School, a free toolkit designed to help children, teachers and club leaders better understand food allergies. The programme is supported by His Majesty the King and closely linked with the King’s Foundation. High Speed Training’s course forms part of that toolkit.

High Speed Training, a registered B-Corp, has also partnered with the charity Magic Breakfast and has donated more than 240,000 breakfasts to schoolchildren across the UK.