Starting primary school with a food allergy
Is your child starting primary school next year? Do they have food allergies?
We have have created a “Starting School with Food allergy – Tips for Parents” resource to help with this next step in your child’s life.
This resource gives you a starting point to know what questions to ask, what needs to be given to the school, what to expect from the school and links to resources on the Allergy Aware website.
Planning and communication will help make starting school with food allergy easier for the child, parent and the school.
Starting high school with a food allergy
Do you have a child with food allergy starting high school in 2025? Moving from primary school to high school can be a big thing for many kids, especially if your child has food allergies.
High schools are often bigger, with more people, class changes, school equipment in school bags or in a locker, and students are expected to be more responsible for themselves.
What does this mean if your child has food allergy?
Not sharing food is a great way to reduce risk. Get them to practice ways to say “no thanks” when offered food and teach them how to read food labels if you haven’t started doing this yet.
If it is the first time your child is carrying their adrenaline injector and copy of the ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis with them, we suggest you:
- Discuss the best place to keep it and ways to remember to take it with them.
- Reassure your child that although they may be carrying their adrenaline injector, the school still has the responsibility to look after them so get help if they think they are having an allergic reaction.
- Talk about ways they could get help if they are having anaphylaxis so they do not stand or walk, for example getting a friend to get help from staff straight away
- Talk about their travel to and from school. What things can they to reduce risk and how to get help if they need it. Remind them that they need to have their adrenaline injector with them when they travel.
High school can be an exciting and challenging part of life. Children with food allergies have to approach things a little differently at times but they can still participate fully in high school and all it has to offer.
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