iAM Compliant Blog & News

Preparing for DfE Changes and Benedict's Law: What's Coming Up in iAM Academy

Written by Clare Shepstone | 09 Jun 2026

If you’re responsible for training, compliance, or pupil safety in a school or multi-academy trust, you’ll already be preparing for the changes arriving this September.

With Benedict’s Law and updated Department for Education (DfE) guidance placing greater emphasis on allergy awareness and emergency response, schools are expected to ensure staff have the knowledge and confidence to respond appropriately when a pupil experiences a severe allergic reaction.

The DfE’s expectations go beyond simply ‘having a policy in place’. Staff across the school, including teaching, support, administrative, and even catering teams, must receive regular allergy awareness training and understand their role in keeping children safe.

When an anaphylaxis emergency happens, there’s little time to stop and think. Staff need to recognise the signs, respond quickly, and know exactly what to do.

That’s why we’ve developed a new collection of iAM Academy courses designed to help schools build practical confidence in allergy response, medication safety, and supporting pupils with medical conditions.

Introducing the 'Incidents' Collection

To help schools and trusts prepare for these new expectations, we’re launching a brand-new collection of expert-written courses throughout the summer.

The collection covers some of the most important areas of pupil health, safety, and incident management. Whether staff need to respond to an anaphylactic emergency, administer medication safely, support pupils with long-term medical conditions, or report incidents correctly, each course focuses on the practical knowledge needed in real school environments.

Designed specifically for education settings, these courses help turn policy and guidance into clear actions staff can apply with confidence.

Here’s what’s coming to iAM Academy ahead of the September rollout:

  • June: AAI’s (EpiPen) Use & Severe Allergy Response
    This course is designed to give all staff members the practical familiarity to act without hesitation. It covers how to recognise the symptoms of mild versus severe reactions, the steps for responding to anaphylaxis, emergency communication, and exactly how and when to confidently administer an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI). Our golden rule for staff: "If in doubt, give adrenaline and call 999."
    How it is produced: To ensure accuracy, the content is underpinned by approved DfE materials, will be IOSH-approved, and has been rigorously vetted by an external educational specialist.

  • July: Incident Reporting and Investigation
    Reporting a medical incident or a behaviour-related near miss is a critical part of school safety. This course guides staff through lawful, clear, and factual recording and reporting procedures, helping you protect your pupils, staff, and overall school/trust accountability.

  • July: Administering Medication Safely
    Aligned with the DfE statutory guidance Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions, this course takes the anxiety out of managing school medication. Staff will learn safe storage procedures, how to double-check dosages, and the vital administrative rules for tracking and record-keeping.

  • August: Managing Pupils' Conditions
    This course helps staff support pupils with co-existing long-term health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and eczema) using Individual Healthcare Plans (IHCPs). It focuses on making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, spotting physical warning signs, and understanding how conditions intersect with safeguarding duties set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).

  • August: Challenging Behaviour and De-Escalation
    Challenging behaviour can be difficult to respond to in the moment. What looks like defiance, disruption, or refusal may be linked to stress, anxiety, frustration, sensory need, or difficulties that a pupil can’t easily express. This course has been designed to help staff recognise early signs of escalation, understand what behaviour may be communicating, and use practical de-escalating techniques.

Following these releases, in September, we’ll also be adding two further courses to round out the collection: Crisis Management and Emergency Response, and Mental Health Crisis Response.

Training Designed to Stick

We know school timetables are busy, and staff have enough to do. That’s why every course in our library is designed to fit around the realities of the school day. Courses are bite-sized, typically taking between 5 and 30 minutes to complete, and using engaging animation and interactivity that keeps learners focused.

But keeping courses short is only part of the challenge. Staff also need to remember what they’ve learned and feel confident applying it in real situations.

That’s why we use realistic school-based scenarios and storytelling throughout our training. Rather than presenting policies as a list of rules, we show how they apply in everyday school life. This helps learners understand the decisions they may need to make and the impact those decisions can have.

The result is training that’s more engaging, easier to remember, and designed to build potentially life-saving confidence long after the course has been completed.

Are You Ready To Turn Requirements Into Action?

As schools prepare for the updated DfE expectations and Benedict’s Law, having the right training plan in place is an important part of demonstrating that staff are equipped to support pupils safely.

Whether you’re training a single school or rolling out this learning across an entire trust, iAM Academy makes it easy to assign courses, automate enrollments, monitor completion rates, and track progress from one central platform.

If you’d like to see how the new collection can fit into your September training plans, we’d be happy to show you how it works.

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