"Benedict died in a place where he should have been safe - his school. […] No more children should die at school because of an allergy."
Helen Blythe, mother of Benedict Blythe.
In July 2025, a coroner's jury concluded that five-year-old Benedict Blythe (who was allergic to cow's milk protein) died due to accidental exposure at Barnack Primary School. The jury further concluded that the most probable source of the allergen, which caused the fatal anaphylaxis in December 2021, was from Benedict ingesting the allergen from his own receptacle.
Although a personal allergy action plan was in place, whereby oat milk was to be carefully stored, prepared and supplied directly to Benedict, the jury concluded that the procedure was not followed on the day of Benedict's death. The plan involved pouring the oat milk into Benedict's cup in the classroom before handing it directly to him. On the day of his death, the process was not strictly followed because the milk was poured in the staffroom before being taken into the classroom, so it could not be confirmed whether it was in fact oat milk.
The jury further concluded that there were missed opportunities to learn lessons from a previous incident in October 2021, where Benedict had been served pizza for lunch at school which resulted in him vomiting.
Speaking outside Peterborough Town Hall, Benedict's mother, Helen Blythe stated, "Benedict's death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures - individual, institutional and systematic".
Sadly, Benedict's allergy-related fatality is not isolated: in 2017, 13-year-old Karanbir Cheema died after another pupil flicked cheese at him; 14-year-old Nasar Ahmed died after an allergic reaction to milk in his lunch; and nine-year-old Mohammed Ismaeel Ashraf died of anaphylaxis caused by an unknown allergen, all while on school premises.
According to Anaphylaxis UK, as many as 8% of UK children have a proven food allergy, which highlights the breadth of potential risk to schools. Other figures suggest 680,000 pupils in England have an allergy.
Allergies and the law
In the first instance, section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states:
'It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.'
Accordingly, all schools have an overarching duty to ensure pupils, as far as reasonably practicable, are not exposed to health and safety risks.
Furthermore, section 100(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 legislates a duty on appropriate school authorities to 'make arrangements for supporting pupils at the school with medical conditions', and directs the appropriate authorities to Secretary of State issued statutory guidance. December 2015 statutory guidance titled 'supporting pupils at school with medical conditions' states that it would generally be unacceptable to prevent children from frequently attending normal school activities (i.e. lunch) because of their medical conditions. Accordingly, schools are recommended to have appropriate plans, records and procedures in place to account for pupils with allergies.
In October 2021, 'Natasha's Law' (officially known as the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019) came into effect following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction to undeclared sesame in a pre-packaged baguette. The legislation requires food business operators to provide full ingredient lists with clear allergen labelling on 'Pre-Packed for Direct Sale' foods. Such legislation makes it incumbent on schools to ensure what pupils with allergies can, or cannot, eat.
In light of Benedict's death, a campaign in his name is calling for the introduction of the 'School Allergy Safety Bill' (or 'Benedict's Law'), which campaigns for every school to have spare allergy pens, allergy trained staff and a formal school allergy policy. On 9 July 2025, Labour MP Chris Bloor presented the Bill to Parliament, which has a groundswell of support from at least 50 MPs.
What schools need to know
Helen Blythe cited several failures in the lead-up to her son's death, including the lack of an 'allergy plan' created by the school, a lack of clinical consultation, insufficient information held by key staff, delayed adrenaline administration and insufficient staff training. She further criticised the existing "patchy, vague guidance", where schools are left to "carry life-or-death responsibility alone".
In the context of a busy primary school where focus is undoubtedly on SAT results, Ofsted inspections, plays, and sports days, one can see how allergen management could potentially slip through the compliance net. In light of several public incidents, like those above, schools would be wise to take heed of the lessons to be learned and to proactively protect their pupils from life-threatening risks.
Key lessons for schools:
- Creating a formal allergy management plan.
- Ensuring that up-to-date risk assessments for pupils are in place which remain robust and fit for purpose.
- Ensuring that appropriate crisis management strategies are implemented in the event of incidents, including practical and legal support where needed.
If you would like to know more about this article or would like to discuss any aspects of health and safety compliance in schools, please contact Robert Lewis, Kizzy Augustin or Matt Diss.