Minimising the risk of exposure to allergens

For students diagnosed at risk of anaphylaxis, the individual health care plan must include strategies to minimise the risk of exposure to known allergens. Further information is provided in Appendices 8 and 9, pages 19-21 of Anaphylaxis Guidelines for Schools Edition 2 (PDF 1MB).

Students and their parents will not always be aware that they have a severe allergy.

To minimise the risk of exposure to a high risk allergen, schools should avoid the use of peanuts, peanut butter or other peanut products in curricular or extra-curricular activities. They should also review curriculum materials to make sure that they do not advocate the use of peanuts, peanut butter or other peanut products.

These precautions apply to all schools whether or not any student is known to be at risk from anaphylaxis.

A ban on peanuts and peanut products within the school is not required but may be agreed to by a school and its community.

If a school does decide to ban peanuts or peanut products it should nevertheless not claim to be "peanut free". Such a claim could not reliably be made and, if made, may lead to a false sense of security about exposure to peanuts and peanut products.

If an anaphylactic reaction is suspected in a student not previously known to be at risk, schools must ensure emergency procedures are activated and appropriate medical assistance is called.

Further information on the prevention of food anaphylactic reactions can be accessed from Guidelines for prevention of food anaphylactic reactions in schools, pre-schools and childcare. See Section 4 of the guidelines for information specific to school age children. In this guide, there is no recommendation to place blanket bans on certain food groups.

Food allergies and Anaphylaxis - Information for schools (PDF 58kB) answers some frequently asked questions about food allergies and anaphylaxis.

Where requests are made to ban foods written documentation of this request should be sought from the student's medical practitioner. Further advice can be sought from the Student Welfare Directorate.