Allergy training options compared
How schools can meet the guidance expectation that all staff are trained in allergy awareness every year.
The DfE guidance expects all staff to be trained every year. Its policy template refers to all staff present during times when pupils are scheduled to be on site, which includes catering staff, contractors and volunteers, and it asks schools to cover induction for new staff and arrangements for supply and cover staff.
The main options
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Online awareness course | Reaching every member of staff, including part-time and supply staff. Easy to repeat each year with a certificate. | No hands-on practice with trainer devices. |
| Face-to-face session | Practice with trainer devices, questions answered, rehearsing your school's own procedures. | Harder to reach everyone; plan catch-up for absent staff. |
| A mix of both | Online awareness for everyone each year, plus practical sessions and drills. | Needs good records to show who has done what. |
Practical tips
- Keep a record of who was trained, when, by which provider, with the certificate
- Include your own procedures: where the pens are, who calls 999, how you log an incident
- Run drills, so the first time staff follow the steps is not a real emergency
- Use recognised providers. Charities such as Anaphylaxis UK and Allergy UK, and the Food Standards Agency, offer training and resources
How Allergy Ledger helps
Training records with certificates, yearly refresher reminders, the percentage of all staff trained, and a drill mode that runs emergency mode on a demo pupil.
Official sources
Allergy Ledger helps your school record and follow its own allergy procedures. It does not give medical advice and does not replace staff training, the pupil's Allergy Action Plan or Individual Healthcare Plan, or the advice of a healthcare professional. In an emergency always follow the pupil's plan and call 999. Emergency steps shown in the app are reproduced from official UK government guidance. Information is only as accurate as what your school and parents enter.