Surrey-based allergy campaigner and entrepreneur Julianne Ponan MBE has welcomed a new law which means every state-funded school in England must have an allergy safety policy in place.
Benedict’s Law came into effect from 1st September and is named after five-year-old Benedict Blythe, who died after suffering anaphylaxis at his primary school in December 2021.
His mum, Helen Blythe, founded the Benedict Blythe Foundation following his death and has campaigned for changes to allergy safety in schools so other families do not have to experience the same loss.
For Julianne, founder and CEO of allergen-free food brand Creative Nature, the change is particularly personal. She lives with severe, life-threatening allergies and remembers being separated from other children at school because staff did not know how to safely include her so it was easier to ‘exclude’ her.
“I remember sitting alone at the allergy table at school, separated from my friends because nobody knew how to include me safely,” said Julianne.
“I also had a reaction on a school residential trip, miles from home, and that was really scary. Being unable to feel safe, but also simply being left out, never really leaves you. No child should have to choose between being safe and being included. Those experiences are why Benedict’s Law matters so much to me.”
Creative Nature has worked with the Benedict Blythe Foundation to develop Allergy Breakfast Club, or ABC, packs to help schools safely include children with food allergies.
The free packs include practical guidance for staff on food handling, serving, allergen labelling and cleaning routines. There are also activities to help children understand allergies and learn how to read food labels.
The ABC packs were chosen by the Department for Education as a resource to support the Government’s free breakfast club rollout, which has already reached 500 schools. They have also been introduced within Outcomes First schools and are available to download free from the Creative Nature website.
Benedict’s Law was passed as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, which received Royal Assent on April 29 this year.
From September, schools have new legal responsibilities around allergy safety, including having and publishing a dedicated allergy policy. Further measures include staff training to recognise and respond to anaphylaxis, access to spare adrenaline auto-injectors and a named allergy safety lead.
“Through the ABC packs, we want every school and breakfast club to have the tools they need to make sure no child has to feel the way I did,” said Julianne.
“And I hope Benedict’s Law goes even further than keeping children physically safe. I want children with allergies to be able to join in with breakfast clubs, school trips, parties and all the other things their friends do.
“At Creative Nature, we talk about everyone being able to sit around the same table and enjoy food without the worry. That’s what inclusion should look like in our schools too.”
Creative Nature, founded by Julianne, produces snacks, baking mixes and its Magibles range, all free from the top 14 allergens with a no “may contain” guarantee. The brand is stocked in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and SuperValu, and products are manufactured to BRC AA standard.
The free ABC packs can be downloaded from the Creative Nature website.
For more information, visit the website.
