Billie Hoque, from Luton, has three children with food allergies. Her son Jess, aged 8, is allergic to cow’s milk, and has experienced several near-death allergic reactions.
“Jess faced an uphill battle at school as a result of his food allergies. The school struggled to comprehend the severity of his allergies and he was often excluded from activities or put in dangerous situations where his allergen was present.
“This led him to experience severe anxiety when he was just 4-years-old. He would wake in the night and tell me he hated school and that he felt lonely due to feeling different.
“I believe Jess’ experience is similar to thousands of others and is a consequence of the stark lack of awareness and education schools have in dealing with allergic children. I am so pleased that Natasha’s Foundation are launching Allergy School. I have no doubt that this will save lives and also improve the mental wellbeing of our allergic children at school.”
His Majesty The King has sent a message of support to Allergy School
“I am delighted to hear of the launch of ‘Allergy School’, the new educational programme by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
Improving understanding of this issue is so important for keeping children with food allergies safe and ensuring they are able to participate fully in activities at school or in our wider communities.
I am particularly heartened that my King’s Foundation has been closely involved with the project, helping all of us to become more aware of the many ways we can support one another, especially the more vulnerable in our society.”
Charles R
Image credit: Hugo Burnand
About 2 children in every classroom have a food allergy, and like you, we want them to feel safe and included in all activities.
Through a new, free toolkit of engaging resources, we want to transform understanding of food allergies so that children, teachers and club leaders feel more confident around food allergies.
We’ve created free resources for nurseries, primary schools, and out-of-school clubs for children aged 3-11, featuring Arlo, the friendly food-allergic armadillo who makes learning about food allergies fun and engaging. And the great thing is that all the resources are completely free.
Our Partners
“Government, schools, teachers, parents and pupils need to come together to support children with food allergies in this country.
“Today we are kickstarting that process. Our new Allergy School will transform levels of awareness and understanding of food allergies to ensure all children are safe and able to participate fully at school.”
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE
Founder & Trustee, Natasha Foundation
“Many children arrive at school with known, and some unknown allergies. The school’s approach to inclusion includes keeping children safely in school when they have allergies or medical needs. This creates a huge amount of work, not only for the senior leadership team but for all staff. Having support from Allergy Schools and a bank of resources and information helps to create not only policy but best practice. All schools should be allergy safe schools.”
Michele Barrett,
Headteacher of Randolph Beresford Nursery & Primary School, London
"The safety of our children is the most important thing both in and outside of school, and I welcome the important work being carried out by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
“I encourage all settings to make use of engaging programmes such as these, alongside taking the necessary steps to manage allergy risks as clearly set out in the government’s allergy guidance.”
Stephen Morgan MP
Minister for Early Years Education
“We recognise that nurseries, schools and out-of-school settings are seeing more children with food allergies come through their doors than ever before. Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding about the seriousness of food allergies and how to manage them.
“We want to end the challenges that children with food allergies face so that they can be fully involved in all activities in and out of school. We would urge all schools to use our free Allergy School resources.”
Jan Parnell
Director of Education, Natasha Foundation
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