Allergies and Medical Conditions: What to Give Your School

If your child has a serious allergy or medical condition, the right paperwork and medicine in school help staff act quickly.

Health3 Oct 20264 min read

Schools in England have a legal duty to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions, under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Statutory guidance explains how schools should work with parents and healthcare professionals, often through an individual healthcare plan.

What to provide

Tell the school about your child's condition, provide up-to-date information from their doctor or nurse, and give the school any prescribed medicine, such as their adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), with the pharmacy label. Help the school write or review your child's individual healthcare plan each year.

Spare adrenaline auto-injectors

Since October 2017, schools in England have been allowed to buy spare AAIs for emergencies. A spare can only be used for a pupil whose medical authorisation and written parental consent are on file, and it's a back-up, not a replacement: the official advice is that anyone prescribed AAIs should carry two at all times.

Check the dateAuto-injectors expire. Set a reminder a month before the date on the device, and ask the school to tell you when theirs are running out.

Sources

Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (Department for Education)
Using emergency adrenaline auto-injectors in schools (Department of Health and Social Care)

The law and guidance described here apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions.

This post is general information. Your school's own plan comes first, so ask the school office for its procedures.