Clubs and Youth Organisations | Allergy Policies & Procedures

Comprehensive Allergy Management for Clubs and Youth Organisations

The information and resources on this page will support your club or organisation to develop best practice policies and procedures to ensure children with allergies are managed safely. This includes the importance of whole organisation allergy awareness, information about our AllergyWise® for Clubs and Youth Organisations online training course with best practice resources, such as guidance for allergy management, downloadable posters, responsibilities, allergy bullying and more! By adopting a holistic approach to allergen management, organisations can create a safer, more inclusive environment that fosters trust and loyalty among all participants and their parent/carers.

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Take an AllergyWise® Course

Unlike other allergy training, Anaphylaxis UK is uniquely placed through it’s health and education specialists, to provide regularly updated AllergyWise® courses and content to make sure that you receive the most up-to -date support.

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AllergyWise® Clubs and Youth Organisations

This course for all school staff covers common causes of allergic reactions, symptoms of anaphylaxis, how to use adrenaline auto-injectors (EpiPen® and Jext®), and how to manage pupils with allergies in school, including responsibilities, risk assessment, Allergy Action Plans, allergy bullying, storage of adrenaline auto-injectors and practical scenarios.

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The importance of communication

It can be an anxious time for parents/carers when they handing over the care of their child to someone outside the family who may not have the same experience in managing allergy. Having an open and transparent allergy aware approach in the organisation will create trust and ensure that the child’s time at the organisation is safe and successful.

It is recommended that the organisation’s allergy policy is placed on the website and the registration form should specifically ask whether a child has an allergy.

Proactive communication is essential for a trusting relationship. It is important for staff to meet with the parent/carer as soon as possible to discuss the procedures in place to protect the child so that everyone is clear and comfortable with the organisation’s plans.

Responsibilities

Allergy policy that is based on statutory guidance, Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions, 2017. Have clear procedures and processes that are known to all staff. Ensure that these include the need for the student’s allergy action plan and individual health care plan or individual risk assessment.

Arrange annual specific allergy and anaphylaxis training for all staff including those who join part way through a year. This must include day to day management and emergency response.

Be inclusive. Ensure that all children are able to safely participate in all activities.

If the provision is based in a school, it may be possible to have access to the school’s ‘Spare’ adrenaline auto-injectors if they hold them.

Record and report any incident that results in an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. Review risk assessments, policy and procedures as a result.

Communicate regularly with parents/carers to support children with allergies.

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Free Downloads

FREE to download best practice resources are designed to support schools to safely manage pupils with allergies.

Download the Risk Assessments

Allergy Bullying

1 in 3 children with food allergy report bullying. It is vital that the organisation’s policies include measures to prevent all forms of bullying. This includes allergy bullying which must be treated seriously. Participants should be made aware of the procedures in place and how to inform staff if an incident occurs. Useful websites include, Childline , NSPCC and Anti-Bullying Alliance.

Find more guidance

We have guidance for all stages of a student’s educational journey that is based on the relevant sector legislation. Click on the links below to find out more.

Guidance for Wraparound care

The information and resources on this page will support your Wraparound Care to develop best practice policies and procedures to ensure children with allergies are managed safely.

Best Practice Resources and UK Guidance

Allergy Action Plans

Allergy Action Plans are designed to function as individual healthcare plans for children with food allergies, providing medical and parental consent for schools to administer medicines in the event of an allergic reaction, including consent to administer a spare adrenaline auto-injector.

We recommend that all parents and schools use the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) Allergy Action Plan to ensure continuity. This is a national plan that has been agreed by the BSACI, Anaphylaxis UK and Allergy UK. These plans have been designed to facilitate first aid treatment of anaphylaxis, to be delivered by people without any special medical training or equipment apart from access to an adrenaline auto-injector. Please note, the plans are medical documents and should be completed by a child’s health professional, in partnership with parents/carers.

There are four plans available; a generic plan for individuals assessed as not needing an adrenaline auto-injector, and a personal plan for individuals prescribed an EpiPen or Jext.

Click here to download the four different Allergy Action Plans here
Model Policy for Allergy Management at School

Anaphylaxis UK and Allergy UK have worked with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) and the Medical Conditions in Schools Alliance, to develop a Model Policy for Allergy Management at School guide. It is designed to support schools to develop a ‘Gold Standard’ policy to manage children’s allergies safely, so that children and their parents feel reassured that a robust policy is in place.

The guide has been reviewed by Professor Adam Fox, Paediatric Allergist at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, Dr Paul Turner, MRC Clinician Scientist in Paediatric Allergy & Immunology at Imperial College and the BSACI Standards of Care Group.

Click here to view the model policy for allergy management at school guide

Click here for an example, editable template model policy

AllergyWise® Training Courses

Guidance

Guidance for Clubs and Youth Organisations