Food allergy charity Natasha’s Foundation is launching a new breakfast club training course for school staff on 1 October to help keep children with food allergies safe.
To ensure all children start the day ready to learn, the Government has introduced free breakfast clubs in primary schools. And as 1,400 further primary schools across England join the scheme, Natasha’s Foundation is helping schools ensure all pupils can join in safely and feel the benefits, including the one in 13 children with food allergies.
Through the Foundation’s educational programme Allergy School, it has joined forces with High-Speed Training and Chartwells to create an easy-to-use course for all staff involved in delivering breakfast clubs.
Called Conducting a food allergy safe breakfast club, the training covers everything staff need to know to keep children with food allergies safe and fully included.
The course includes information on understanding food allergies and other food hypersensitivities; checklists and allergen identifiers; controlling cross-contamination, and reporting issues and concerns.
Around two children in every classroom now live with food allergies so this free training provides a powerful and vital tool to help staff deliver a safe and fully inclusive breakfast club.
The course is also compliant with Benedict’s Law, new legislation which has introduced robust statutory allergy safety guidance in schools across England.
However, the free training can also provide valuable support to schools right across the UK. Wales and Scotland have led the way on free breakfast club provision, and Allergy School’s new training has been designed to be applicable across all the UK nations.
Schools in England can also sign up for Allergy School’s free Allergy and anaphylaxis training, designed to get schools fully compliant with Benedict’s Law and meet the new requirement for allergy training for all school staff.
So far, more than 180,000 educators and school staff have completed this free and fully accredited training, which compliments the new breakfast club training course.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said: “Children with food allergies need safe food options so they can enjoy breakfast clubs without fear or anxiety.
“This training will give schools the tools they need to ensure that free breakfast clubs are food allergy safe environments.”
Jan Parnell, Director of Education at Natasha’s Foundation, said: “School staff need the confidence and knowledge to deliver a free breakfast club programme, while ensuring that all children are safe, including those with food allergies.
“This new free training will help ensure that all children, including those with food allergy, are included and protected.”
