AllergyWise® for Schools

Designed by teachers, backed by expert allergy clinicians to ensure all school staff can recognise the signs of a serious
allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and have the confidence to safely manage pupils with allergies.
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Course information

Anaphylaxis UK is the only charity solely for those at risk of serious allergic reactions. We’ve been supporting those at risk of anaphylaxis for over 30 years, providing trusted information to individuals, schools, healthcare professionals and businesses.

Our course information is evidence-based, with the support of our Clinical and Scientific Panel of leading allergy consultants and the expertise of our Education and AllergyWise® Manager, Tracey Dunn, a retired Headteacher.

AllergyWise® for Schools includes:

  • Modules on: allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, risk factors, treating anaphylaxis, allergy management in schools, allergy bullying, risk assessment
  • Clear instruction on how to use adrenaline auto-injectors
  • Quizzes
  • Practical scenario videos
  • Optional narration of lessons
  • Final assessment
  • Personalised downloadable digital certificate of completion
  • Downloadable allergy awareness lesson resource packs for primary and secondary schools
  • Eligibility for our AllergyWise® School award

This course takes approximately 1 hour to complete at a time that suits you.

To complement this online course, we recommend schools order trainer adrenaline auto-injector devices to practise with. Order these directly from the manufacturer’s websites for free: EpiPen®, Jext® and Emerade®.

How serious allergies affect schools

Up to 5% of children are thought to have a food allergy.
Every school class is likely to have at least one pupil with allergies.
17% of fatal food-anaphylaxis reactions in school-age children happen while they are at school.
20% of serious allergic reactions to food happen whilst a child is at school, and these reactions can occur in children with no prior history of food allergy.
In school-aged children, cow’s milk is the most common single cause of fatal anaphylaxis and is responsible for 26% of deaths.
32% of children surveyed reported being bullied due to food allergy. Bullied food-allergic children, compared with nonbullied, report higher anxiety and lower quality of life.

Why the course is important

Schools have a legal duty to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. Every school class is likely to have at least one pupil with allergies. The most serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) usually begins within minutes and can be life-threatening. Unfortunately, there have been cases of fatal anaphylaxis happening when a child is at school. Lessons learnt from these tragic cases emphasise the need for schools to have robust allergy management systems in place, and for all school staff to have an understanding of allergies, to be able to recognise the signs of anaphylaxis and to have the confidence to manage an emergency situation.

We encourage a whole school allergy awareness approach, involving the education of all staff and pupils. The more staff and pupils who are allergy aware and can recognise the signs of anaphylaxis, the safer all pupils with allergies in school will be. Our allergy awareness lesson resource packs, included with this course, will support your school to educate pupils about allergies, and raise awareness of the emotional impact allergies can have.

 

Who is the course useful for?

The course is designed for all school staff, whether they are teaching or non-teaching staff. This includes:

teachers afterschool club
learning support cover supervisors
leadership administrative
lunchtime supervisors  site staff

 

Any member of staff, at any time, could be with a child experiencing anaphylaxis.

Additional benefits

Our updated allergy awareness lesson resource packs for primary and secondary schools are included as part of this course! Completing our course before delivering the resources will give staff the knowledge to feel confident teaching about allergies.

Primary School

The primary school resource pack includes four ready-to-use lesson plans, covering all age groups, plus five further downloads including a quiz, presentations and activities. The resources support the teaching of allergy, as required by the statutory Relationships Education (RE) curriculum for England, but are useful for all schools across the UK to raise awareness of allergies with pupils. The resources also promote inclusion of all children.

Secondary School

The secondary school resource pack is designed to facilitate an allergy awareness session/s with secondary school age pupils. This could be part of PSHE, Citizenship or during tutor time. The session aims to improve pupils’ knowledge of serious allergies and to raise awareness of the emotional impact that allergies can have. The resource pack includes four downloads with a ready-to-use lesson plan, presentation, quiz and teacher notes.

All schools who complete our AllergyWise® for Schools online training course are eligible for our AllergyWise® School award! The award recognises schools who complete our online training, deliver our allergy awareness lesson resources to pupils, have a policy in place for managing allergies in school and purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors.

Pricing information

Bulk Purchase

  • Course cost: £10.50 including VAT per person.
 
  • You can purchase this course for a minimum of 10 staff.
 

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Additional Information

  • 20% discount the next year for schools who purchase this course again. If you’ve previously bulk purchased our AllergyWise® for Schools course for 10 or more staff, please use the contact form to get in touch for your discount.
 
  • If you’re a Multi Academy Trust or a large school looking to purchase the course for 50 or more staff, please use the contact form to get in touch for bespoke pricing.

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