This report was compiled in response to the issue of staff in my setting not being aware of children with allergies nor the procedures in place to deal with an allergic reaction.

No allergic reactions occurred in this instance. However, if there had been an incident, the staff member would have been unable to deal with the child effectively and ensure the proper treatment was given.

The Beeston Hill St Luke’s School health and safety policy, (2004) states, that staff should be made aware of children with special medical needs and their action plans. Unfortunately this was not put into practice and was overlooked.

Government guidelines affirm that the school has a responsibility to ensure that staff receive the necessary training and support to deal with such instances as published in the Managing Medicines in School and Early Years document (2005) 

Not following the policy and guidelines could have had severe consequences such as the case of seven year old Amarria Johnson who died after eating a peanut given to her by a friend who was unaware of her allergy to nuts, Chesterfield County police department (2012)

Anaphylaxis is an extreme and severe allergic reaction which, if not treated correctly can be fatal as discussed by Tanya (2007)

As a result of this report there has been staff training for all school staff, to raise awareness of the children in the school with allergies and effectively dealing with allergic reactions. Regular training updates have been agreed upon to ensure any changes to action plans and other needs are delivered promptly. I also recommended that awareness is raised to other pupils, by delivering a lesson on children with allergies and, more specifically display posters of the children with allergies around the school with details of their allergy and a contact person if a child starts having an allergic reaction. There should be specific details held within an appendix attached to the school’s Health and Safety Policy to alert new members of staff to these children and their medical needs.

Since the changes have been implemented and training delivered, the staff are better equipped to deal with an incident involving an allergic reaction. This has improved the safety and wellbeing of the children at the school and has ensured that the health and safety policy (2007) is being adopted by all staff.