High Speed Training: Offer free Allergy training to all UK schools

Schools in England must provide allergy awareness training for all staff for the first time, under new statutory guidance announced by the Department for Education.

Yet, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, warns that each necessity in the new guidance needs funding and “schools can’t be expected to fund from their budgets.” – BBC

High Speed Training, a leading provider of online training and e-learning, is offering comprehensive free Allergy & Anaphylaxis training to all schools and educational establishments in the UK, with over 17,500 people certified through the free course already.

The course is officially supported by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, an organization dedicated to safeguarding children with allergies, which was established after the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse due to an allergic reaction in 2016.

Created in partnership with industry experts, this course equips school staff with the confidence to recognize, prevent, and respond to allergic reactions. It outlines the most common allergens and the risks they pose in a school setting, as well as the procedures that schools should have in place to manage allergy risks.

The course, which is assured by City & Guilds and accredited by CPD, can be taken for free by all UK education staff and can be found by visiting High Speed Training’s Allergy & Anaphylaxis for Schools course.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE (Natasha Allergy Research Foundation Founder & Trustee) says: “Everybody in schools needs to understand how to safeguard allergic children. We need training for everybody in schools, so it’s not the parents having to tell teachers how to keep their child safe. How can we expect people to safely look after children in their care if they’re not given the tools and resources with which to do it?”

Jan Parnell, Director of Education at the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, adds: “Making sure that the whole school has allergy awareness training is essential. And particularly knowing how to respond to an allergy emergency. It’s a non-negotiable really for all staff. So we’ve created really good high-quality resources, free to schools so that they can be supported in their safeguarding and also supported in their inclusive practice.”

The free course was created with Natalie Hopkins, Allergy Trainer and parent to a child with life-threatening allergies herself. Natalie is a dedicated allergy and anaphylaxis trainer and is accredited in anaphylaxis by the Royal College of Nursing.

Expert advice was also provided by Dr. José Costa MD FRCPCH, a Paediatric Allergy Consultant with over 16 years of experience. Dr. Costa holds a postgraduate certificate in Paediatric Allergy from Imperial College London and is a fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The comprehensive Allergy and Anaphylaxis for Schools course provides staff with the confidence to:

• Identify common allergens and recognise the signs of life-threatening Anaphylaxis.
• Respond effectively in emergencies, including the proper administration of adrenaline auto-injectors.
• Understand the wider impact of allergies, including mental health effects and “allergy bullying”.
• Implement robust policies and documentation to guarantee inclusive practice.

Gareth Greenwood, Strategic Partnerships Lead at High Speed Training

said: “Teachers and educators are on the frontline when it comes to managing student health, and we know how challenging this can be, from both a workload and a budgetary perspective. By offering this course free of charge, we want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to this vital knowledge, removing the barriers to safety and ensuring that no school is left behind due to a lack of resources.”

“Reaching 17,500 certified learners is a testament to the urgent need for this training, but it is also a reminder of the scale of the challenge we face in keeping children safe. We have created an expert-led course that will equip school staff with the knowledge and confidence to create safe environments for children and young people.”

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation also offers its Allergy School, supported by His Majesty the King and closely involved with the King’s Foundation. The Allergy School is a free toolkit designed to transform understanding of food allergies, helping children, teachers, and club leaders feel more confident around them. High Speed Training’s course is included within the toolkit.

A registered B-Corp, High Speed Training has also donated over 240,000 breakfasts to schoolchildren across the UK in partnership with Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free breakfasts to children at their schools.