Is your canteen confident in dealing with food allergies?

Twenty per cent of allergic reactions to food occur in schools, and while some schools are well prepared to deal with the needs of children with food allergies, others still have some way to go. So what does good allergen-friendly catering in schools look like? The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation shares some advice

Every child should be able to enjoy safe, nutritious food at school. But for around two children in every classroom in the UK who have been diagnosed with a food allergy, this can be challenging.

Food allergies disproportionately affect children and young people, and 20 per cent of allergic reactions to food occur in schools. While some schools are well prepared to deal with the needs of children with food allergies, others still have some way to go.

A survey of 1,900 teachers carried out by the NASUWT, the teachers’ union, in collaboration with The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity, has revealed that 95 per cent of teachers now have children with food allergies in their school, yet 67 per cent have had no allergy awareness training.

One in five teachers has never been taught how to administer an adrenaline auto-injector which could save a life in a food allergy emergency, and almost two thirds (60 per cent) don’t know or are unsure if their  school even has an allergy  policy.

For school caterers, clear communication and processes are key when it comes to food allergies.

Legal requirements

The Government has legal requirements for schools around food, including school caterers showing allergen ingredients information for the food they serve, to make it easier for schools to identify the food that pupils with allergies can and cannot eat.

In addition, catering organisations such as LACA, the school food people, has issued allergen management guidance to its members for catering in education.

Good communication and co-operation between the school, the parent of a child with a food allergy and caterers is central and, it says, ‘the first priority of all parties must always be the safety of customers and pupils with medical dietary requirements’. To achieve this, it advises school caterers carry out a risk assessment to analyse the ‘capabilities of the school kitchen, the nature of the allergen(s) and the severity of the allergy’.

Showcasing best practice

Through its new £1 million educational programme called Allergy School (www.allergyschool.org.uk), Natasha’s Foundation is highlighting examples of good allergen-friendly catering practice in schools.

Allergy School, launched earlier this year (February 2025), offers free advice and practical resources to help all those working in school settings create an inclusive and safe environment for children with food allergies. Its aim is to empower staff to protect every child and foster confidence and understanding among pupils, ensuring those with food allergies feel empowered, supported and protected.

Waltham Forest Catering, the school catering team at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, has introduced Allergy-Friendly Days to its school lunch menus to raise awareness of food allergies and ensure children with food allergies are able to fully participate in school lunchtimes.

On the Allergy-Friendly Days – now two days a week across the 43 schools in the borough – the menus are free from the top 14 allergens. To introduce Allergy-Friendly Days, Waltham Forest Catering reviewed all existing menus to identify dishes that did not contain any of the top 14 allergens, discussed with food suppliers what ingredients they could provide that were allergen-free without risk of cross contamination, developed new recipes and then asked children to taste test the dishes.

The next job was to win over the catering staff, school leaders and parents – and they found that inclusivity was the main driver for persuading both school leaders and the catering team to embrace Allergy-Friendly Days.

All catering staff underwent an Allergen Awareness Course, a risk assessment was carried out to make sure allergen-free food was separate from all other food, and deep cleaning is carried out the day before each Allergy-Friendly Day to prevent any cross-contamination.

You can read more about Waltham Forest Catering’s experience here.

Through Allergy School, Natasha’s Foundation is encouraging schools to develop their own allergy policy and use a simple letter to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) from a pharmacy, without the need of a prescription, for use in a food allergy emergency.

Responding to an allergy emergency

Allergy School also teaches school staff how to respond in a food allergy emergency. Anaphylaxis – the most severe allergic reaction – triggers symptoms affecting the airways, breathing and circulation (ABCs). If someone with a food allergy is showing these symptoms, they should administer an AAI without the delay, dial 999 and say ‘anaphylaxis’, make sure the person is lying down and inject a second AAI if there are no signs of improvement after five minutes.

Preventing further tragedies

For Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBEs who set up Natasha’s Foundation, improving understanding and education about food allergies in schools is a subject close to their hearts.

Their daughter Natasha was diagnosed with food allergies from a young age and, at times, they found it hard to keep her safe at school. Natasha died in 2016 aged 15 after eating a baguette sandwich that contained sesame seeds that she was highly allergic to.

The ingredients’ list on the sandwich didn’t mention sesame, and the seeds weren’t visible because they had been baked into the dough of the bread. Had sesame been listed, Natasha would never have eaten the sandwich. Her death was entirely preventable.

Tanya said: “I know it can be really hard for parents to feel confident that their allergic child will be safe in school. Finding a nursery where Natasha would be safe was extremely difficult, and when she started school aged five, it was only when she had a severe allergic reaction to milk on a school trip to the zoo that staff finally took her food allergies seriously.

“At times, Natasha was bullied at school because of her food allergies and this was incredibly stressful and isolating for both Natasha and our family. Government, schools, teachers, caterers, parents and pupils need to come together to end the challenges faced by so many children with food allergies in this country.  

“Our new Allergy School will transform levels of awareness and understanding of food allergies to ensure all children are safe and able to participate fully at school.”

The Allergy School programme

Allergy School is the new £1million free educational programme by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the UK’s food allergy charity.

The first phase, aimed at nurseries, primary schools and out-of-school clubs and groups looking after children aged 3 to 11, offers a suite of resources to transform understanding of food allergies in schools so that children with food allergies feel empowered, included and protected.

This includes five films for pupils and teachers including a quiz and first aid advice, engaging lesson plans and assembly packs for Key Stages 1 and 2, a self-assessment tool to allow schools to determine how allergy-inclusive they are and how they can improve the safety and well-being of their allergic pupils, and allergy training for teachers. All are mapped into the National Curriculum to make them easy to use for all age groups.

Allergy School has been developed in partnership with The King’s Foundation, St John Ambulance, the children’s charity Coram Life Education and Tesco Stronger Starts, and received a message of support from His Majesty King Charles.

www.allergyschool.org.uk