Family of Benedict Blythe call for 'Benedict's Law' after 5-year-old put at 'unnecessary risk' due to school allergy policy
The family of Benedict Blythe have called for new legislation to protect children with allergies in school after their own son was put at ‘unnecessary risk’ due to the policies in place at the time.
On Wednesday (July 9), a near two-week inquest into the death of Benedict following an allergic reaction he suffered while at Barnack Primary School on December 1, 2021 concluded.
The jury of the found that Benedict died as a result of consuming cow’s milk, a food stuff to which he had an extreme allergy.
The inquest also pointed to a number of factors which potentially caused his death, including a delay in administering adrenaline, opportunities for cross-contamination of his usual cup with regular milk and the fact his allergy plan was not distributed to all teaching staff that came into contact with Benedict.
Speaking after the inquest, Benedict’s mother Helen described her son’s death as ‘preventable’ and attributable to ‘critical failings’ in his care.
“He genuinely loved school, it was a perfect place for him”
Benedict lived at his home in Stamford with his parents Helen and Peter as well as his younger sister Etta (who is now six-years-old). Benedict was just five years old at the time of his death and had only been attending school for less than three months. During the inquest, Benedict- who joined Mensa at just four-years-old, was described as a ‘bright’ child and the ‘smartest in his class’ but it is his warmth and his kindness that his parents hold most dear.
Helen said: “What we have hoped to shine a light on throughout all of this is his character; his kindness and his curiosity.
"It has been wonderful how many times people have reached out to us with stories of what Benedict’s kindness looked like in practical terms. It has been so nice to hear those stories as we now don’t get to have new ones.
“He loved school. When he started school in the autumn, I remember him crying as it got towards winter when he thought he had to stop going. He genuinely loved school, it was a perfect place for him, he loved learning and it was as if he has been waiting his whole life to go. He had a really good group of friends too that he made incredibly. He was very lucky for that.”
The findings of the inquest bring to an end the family’s four-year wait for answers to why exactly Benedict arrived at school healthy but never returned home. As well as gaining these answers, Benedict’s family have told the Peterborough Telegraph that they hope the findings of the inquest will shine a light on what could have been done differently and the policies that need to change moving forward.
Since Benedict’s death, his family have kept his memory alive through the Benedict Blythe Foundation. The foundation has shone a light on Benedict’s story as well as amplified the stories of others who have suffered similar tragedies with calls for action at both a governmental and local authority level. The foundation also specialises in helping children to overcome barriers to learning and access key opportunities.
The bill calls for there to be mandatory and funded spare allergy/adrenaline pens in every school, mandatory staff training that goes beyond emergency response but into allergy awareness and management and how to respond quickly to symptoms along with having a physical copy of an allergy policy in every school.
"The requirements are woeful and an easy fix"
At present, the only legal requirement for schools is for there to be one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate on-site and even that is only for settings with children up to five-years-old. A provision Helen describes as ‘woeful.’
Helen added: “Passing Benedict’s Law would bring us in line with other western countries such as the US and Canada, which have had such policies in place for up to 20 years.
"Our story is a personal example of why these things matter and do need to be in place. If what happened to Benedict has been the catalyst for change then at least a slither of good has come from this.
“My concerns are that there isn’t a willingness to make those changes. There has been fatalities in the past and reports made but the government hasn’t heeded those warnings, changes weren’t made and we are another family going through what we are.
"The requirements are woeful and an easy fix. It should be a no-brainer if they care about protecting children."
National guidance is given to schools on allergies but it is up to the individual schools to implement their own specific policies and the level of provision and care can differ significantly between schools.
On the specifics on the policies in place at Barnack Primary School, Helen added: “There is a huge gap that means that the school weren’t given the right direction in terms of what they must do.
"We know that when he started school, there was no allergy policy in place prior to that. The training didn’t necessarily give staff the knowledge to be able to make informed choices, there was no spare auto injectors on-site and there was no formal written risk assessment that was carried out.
“We are asking for this law as these things can’t be left to chance and when it is, it can go wrong.
“Allergic reactions can happen out of nowhere. A significant proportion of first time allergic reactions happen in school. There has to be a process even when there isn’t a specific known allergy for a child or they suffer a new reaction. If not, children are put at risk and staff are put in an impossible situation they are not prepared for.”
To learn more about the Benedict Blythe Foundation, visit https://www.benedictblythe.com/.