The Department for Education has made the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Commencement No. 3) (England) Regulations 2026, with the instrument signed on 17 August 2026 by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Paul Waugh. The Regulations bring section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 fully into force in England on 1 September 2026. That section concerns allergy safety policy for pupils at schools.
The commencement date is the key point for schools and education stakeholders. From 1 September 2026, schools in England must have, review and publish an allergy safety policy, and they must do so having regard to statutory guidance. The explanatory note states that this is the third set of commencement regulations made under the 2026 Act and that it applies to England only. For governing bodies, academy trusts and senior leaders, the immediate effect is that the duty now has a fixed legal start date.
Section 34 works by amending existing education legislation rather than standing alone. The explanatory note says it changes the Children and Families Act 2014, the Education Act 1996 and the Education and Skills Act 2008. That drafting approach places allergy policy within the established legal structure for school duties. In practice, schools will need to treat allergy arrangements as part of their wider pupil welfare, policy governance and publication processes, rather than as an informal local procedure.
The Regulations are brief, but they point to a wider legal framework. The explanatory note says section 34 also gives the Secretary of State power to make further regulations imposing duties on specified persons in connection with allergies affecting pupils at schools. This instrument does not itself set out the full content of an allergy safety policy. Its purpose is narrower: it activates the statutory duty and confirms that schools must act with regard to statutory guidance once the provision is in force.
For maintained schools, academy trusts and local authorities, the period before 1 September 2026 is now a clear preparation window. Schools that already hold medical needs or allergy procedures will need to check whether those documents meet the new requirement to have a policy, whether review arrangements are recorded, and whether publication is accessible for parents, staff and governors. The change also reaches beyond paper compliance. A published policy is likely to need alignment with medication handling, emergency response, catering practice, school trips and communication with families. The commencement instrument does not prescribe each operational step, but it does create a clearer basis for oversight and accountability.
There is also a technical point on commencement. Under section 78(1)(a)(i) of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, any provision in Parts 1 and 2 relating to powers to make regulations came into force when the Act was passed on 29 April 2026. These new Regulations bring the substantive allergy policy provision in section 34 into force from 1 September 2026, to the extent not already in force for that limited purpose. For parents and education professionals, the legal position is now more straightforward. From 1 September 2026, allergy safety policy in England’s schools moves onto a formal statutory footing, with duties tied to having, reviewing and publishing a policy in line with ministerial guidance.