From September 2026, new allergy-safety requirements commonly referred to as Benedict’s Law will apply to maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units within scope in England.
The changes introduce new duties around allergy safety policies, alongside statutory guidance covering staff awareness, emergency response, Individual Healthcare Plans and the management of adrenaline auto-injectors.
Policies and training will rightly take much of the attention. But there is a more practical consideration too.
If a pupil suffers a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), where is the emergency medication and how quickly can staff get to it?
Anaphylaxis is a serious, time-critical medical emergency. Department for Education guidance states that adrenaline should be administered as soon as possible. In practice, adrenaline devices should be able to be brought to the person experiencing anaphylaxis within five minutes.
That makes the location and accessibility of emergency medication an important part of a school’s allergy response.
Adrenaline devices should be readily accessible and not locked away. Spare devices should be stored in pairs, clearly labelled and kept in a safe and central location. In larger schools, more than one set may be needed to make sure medication can reach the pupil quickly enough.
The guidance also covers how schools should manage allergy risks more widely, including staff awareness and training, Individual Healthcare Plans, reducing exposure to known allergens and learning from serious incidents or near misses.
Schools in England are already permitted to purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors for emergency use, and Department for Education guidance says schools should do so. The Government also intends to introduce a specific statutory duty requiring schools to stock spare adrenaline devices through forthcoming regulations.
No single product can make a school compliant with these duties. Good allergy preparedness depends on policy, training, communication and a clear emergency response.
But the physical location of the medication matters too.
Making emergency medication easier to access
Anaphylaxis response kits come in different forms. Some are compact pouches containing adrenaline auto-injectors, while others are larger rigid boxes holding additional medication, instructions or supporting items.
Wherever they are stored, they need to be easy to recognise and easy to retrieve.
A kit kept loose in a drawer or mixed with general first-aid supplies may be harder to find in an emergency. Equipment can also be moved, misplaced or damaged, particularly in busy school environments.
A clearly identified, wall-mounted enclosure gives the kit a defined location.
STI’s clear polycarbonate medical enclosures keep the contents visible while helping protect the equipment against vandalism and accidental damage. Clear emergency anaphylaxis kit labelling can also make the location easier to identify and distinguish it from other first-aid or emergency equipment on site.
Access is just as important as protection. The STI enclosure options featured use non-keyed, thumb-operated access, allowing the enclosure to be opened without first locating a key.
Any installation used for adrenaline devices must still leave the medication readily accessible. Department for Education guidance says adrenaline devices should not be locked away or kept somewhere with restricted access. Optional secondary padlocks or other access restrictions should therefore not be used where they could delay access to emergency adrenaline.
Where the enclosure is positioned also needs to form part of the school’s emergency planning. Staff need to know where the medication is held, and it must be accessible quickly from the areas it is intended to serve.
Medication storage requirements apply too. Adrenaline devices must be stored at room temperature, in line with the manufacturer’s guidance, and should not be refrigerated or left in direct sunlight or extremes of heat.
Choosing an enclosure for an anaphylaxis kit
Safety Technology International manufactures several enclosure sizes that can be used with selected emergency anaphylaxis kits.
The STI-7511F is a clear polycarbonate enclosure suited to selected compact anaphylaxis pouches.
For larger pouches, or selected multiple-pouch arrangements, the STI-7511A provides additional internal depth.
The larger STI-7531MED includes an internal wire rack and provides more space for selected rigid anaphylaxis response boxes or multiple compact kits.
Kit sizes vary considerably between suppliers, so the intended kit should always be checked against the enclosure before installation.
For schools, the decision is not simply about putting medication inside a box. It is about making sure emergency equipment has a recognised location, staff know where it is and it can be accessed without unnecessary delay.
As the new allergy safety duties come into effect, schools will be reviewing policies, training and emergency arrangements. The way critical medication is stored should form part of that review.
STI medical enclosures provide a practical way to help keep selected emergency anaphylaxis kits visible, protected and accessible when needed.
Explore STI’s range of medical enclosures and find the right protection for your emergency equipment.
