Family want law to keep children with allergies safe at school
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said it would "consider the jury's conclusions carefully".The school has been approached for comment.
Benedict loved school, his mum told the BBC. "The first week he went to school when he started, he cried when he came home on the Friday because he realised he didn't get to go to school on the weekends," she said."It was like he had been waiting his entire life for the opportunity to go to school and learn - and he was really fortunate that he a group of good friends really quickly." Benedict had asthma and a number of allergies, including eggs, nuts, kiwi fruit and milk, she said.Mrs Blythe was assured the school had policies and training to manage his allergies, and said it was "one of the reasons we felt secure and safe in him going to the school". "We have since found out through the course of the inquest that wasn't the case," she said.His parents said they had worked with the school to put together an allergy action plan and informed them that vomiting was "always" the first symptom of a reaction.The plan also included a specific process for storing, preparing and supplying oat milk to their son. It involved storing the milk, labelled with the child's name, in the staff fridge and pouring it into Benedict's cup in the classroom before handing it directly to him.The inquest heard that on the day of his death, that process was not followed because his milk had been poured in the staff room and then taken to him in the classroom.
On 1 December, while at school Benedict vomited twice before he collapsed.At 12:57 GMT he was pronounced dead at Peterborough City Hospital due to food-induced anaphylaxis."I think any parent would dread the call from the school to say their child was unwell," Mrs Blythe said."Learning that's a call that they are seriously unwell is something I think will strike fear into anyone's heart - it certainly did mine and it's a call I think every parent hopes they will never receive, and unfortunately we did."She said she believed his death was preventable.A jury found "probable causes" of Benedict's death included the delayed administration of his adrenaline, opportunities for cross-contamination or mix up of milk, and that his allergy plan was not shared with teaching staff.They also said there were missed opportunities to review "lessons learned" from a previous incident, when Benedict was served pizza for lunch at school in October 2021, which resulted in him being sick.
The family wants the government to introduce Benedict's Law, to keep children with allergies safe at school. It would make it compulsory for all schools to have spare allergy pens, allergy-trained staff, and a school allergy policy."Changing the law to protect other children should be absolutely top of their priority list," Mrs Blythe said."Children's wellbeing is at stake and their lives, ultimately. I think it would be foolish of them not to listen."
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He said: 'In the book, there's a picture of her at the end of our road, the most recent picture I took, only a few weeks ago. 'And she's looking great and she's smiling and she's got her coat on. And what you don't know is she thought I'd kidnapped her. This was us going out. 'Because you get delusions because you get so worked up. She keeps saying, "I want to go home".' Asked by Alison if she still recognises him, he said: 'She does recognise me most of the times. Doesn't quite know that I'm her husband but she knows who I am.' Martin shared another heartbreaking detail too: 'Every now and then, she'll want to go home to her parents and I haven't got the heart to say they aren't here.' He explained how he copes with this instead: 'You say, "Let's get our coats on, let's get our shoes on", we go out, go round the block a couple of times and come back in. And she says, "Oh, I'm home now".' What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, in which build-up of abnormal proteins causes nerve cells to die. This disrupts the transmitters that carry messages, and causes the brain to shrink. More than 5 million people suffer from the disease in the US, where it is the 6th leading cause of death, and more than 1 million Britons have it. WHAT HAPPENS? As brain cells die, the functions they provide are lost. That includes memory, orientation and the ability to think and reason. The progress of the disease is slow and gradual. On average, patients live five to seven years after diagnosis, but some may live for ten to 15 years. EARLY SYMPTOMS: Loss of short-term memory Disorientation Behavioral changes Mood swings Difficulties dealing with money or making a phone call LATER SYMPTOMS: Severe memory loss, forgetting close family members, familiar objects or places Becoming anxious and frustrated over inability to make sense of the world, leading to aggressive behavior Eventually lose ability to walk May have problems eating The majority will eventually need 24-hour care
