Is the education sector doing enough to protect people with allergies?

Headteacher Natalie Denchfield initially found out about Kitt Medical through a safeguarding newsletter and signed up with the service in May 2023.

Her school, Wanstead Church, was one of the first schools in the UK to install an Anaphylaxis Kitt.

As a voluntary aided primary school in Redbridge with just over 200 students aged 3-11, she says she sees more and more children with allergies joining the school each year.

She now hopes for a future where every school in the UK has an Anaphylaxis Kitt. Click the video below to watch her interview.

On average, 1 to 2 children in every UK school classroom live with an allergy.

In 2018, almost 8,000 deaths across the UK mentioned anaphylaxis on their death certificate - and anaphylaxis happens more in school than in any other setting outside the home in the UK.

Whilst schools regularly put in place ‘no nut policies’, 26% of food allergy deaths in school-aged children are caused by cows milk allergy.

But here’s a wake-up call: 1 in 3 UK schools DON'T have an allergy policy in place, including proper training for staff, and most don’t keep a spare set of adrenaline pens in case of emergency.

For all of these reasons and more, our Anaphylaxis Kitt service was the perfect solution for Wanstead Church school.

Source: REACT Report - The Benedict Blythe Foundation

Often you don’t know or care much about allergy until it personally affects you. When Headteacher Natalie’s nephew was diagnosed with severe allergies, she experienced first-hand how difficult it can really be.

Natalie reflected on having the Kitt in the school, saying: “The Anaphylaxis Kitt is part of a bigger picture of first aid. The biggest change is the awareness that comes with it: "Children, staff, parents… they’ve now seen the orange box, they walk past it every day as they come in. We have peace of mind and we’re prepared if something ever did go wrong."

There’s a huge gap in the education sector where caring for young children and teenagers with allergies.

Never again do we want to see an ‘avoidable’ allergy death headlining the news. Our goal is to create a new standard for allergy care - one that is proactive rather than reactive.

We provide adrenaline pens on subscription alongside wall-mounted ‘Kitts’ and online CPD training, all-in-one subscription service.

Since launching in January 2023, we have provided over 750 Kitts to organisations all across the UK, training 14,000 people and treating 9 life-threatening allergic reactions in the process.

Our Kitts are available to purchase for schools and qualifying businesses in the UK - To find out more, go to kittmedical.com