‘My son died from a milk allergy at school – I want to make sure it never happens again’
The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after he was accidentally exposed to the wrong milk at school is calling for a new law to keep other children with allergies safe.
Benedict Blythe, a reception pupil at Barnack Primary School in Stamford, Lincolnshire, suffered fatal anaphylaxis after he was accidentally exposed to cow’s milk protein, probably from his own cup during break time.
An inquest into his death found the school’s delay in giving him his EpiPen, a failure to share his allergy plan, and a failure to learn from a previous allergic reaction, all likely contributed to his death.
Benedict died in December 2021, and the family have now waited more than three years for answers, with the inquest concluding this week.
Benedict’s mother Helen is working to ensure no other children die at school from an allergy. Pic: Family handout
He had a number of allergies, including cow’s milk protein, eggs, nuts and kiwi fruit.
Benedict, who joined the high-IQ society Mensa at the age of four, loved school, his mother Helen told Sky News.
“He was ferociously intelligent,” she said. “He was doing Year Five maths when he had just started school.”
He was also “kind and considerate”, she said, describing how her son once spent his entire lunchtime helping a friend find a lost scooter.
“We walked into school one day and he noticed a child that looked a bit nervous, and said, I’ll take you in, took his hand and walked him into school.”
She continued: “That kind of calm, positive energy, that is always missing and we will never come across it again. It’s a really hard thing to have lost.”
Benedict and his sister. Pic: Family handout
During break time, Benedict was to be served oat milk, which was stored in the staff fridge with his name on. The usual process was to take this into the classroom and pour it into his cup, handing it to him directly.
But on the day of his death, his milk was poured in the staffroom and then taken into the classroom.
It is not clear how the cross-contamination or mix-up of milk could have happened, but the foreperson of the jury at the inquest said: “We deem the probable source of the allergen that caused the fatal anaphylaxis is the ingestion of cow’s milk protein, most probably from his own receptacle during break time.”
Benedict vomited twice and lost consciousness before his adrenaline pen was administered.
By the time he reached hospital, it was too late. Benedict was five years old when he died.
There is currently no specific legislation to protect children with allergies. Pic: Family handout
Helen said the school had been told vomiting was “always” the first sign of an allergic reaction, but the pen was given too late to be effective.
“The advice is, if in doubt, don’t delay,” she said.
“The worst that will happen with giving adrenaline is that they will feel a bit ropey, but the risk of delaying it… probably even a minute earlier could have had an impact.”
A previous reaction
This was the second time Benedict had an allergic reaction at school, having previously been sick while eating a pizza.
Benedict had an allergic reaction at school once before. Pic: Family handout
And while she was keen to stress she did not blame individual staff members, the inquest found no allergy plan was created by the school, and there was no specific allergy policy when he started school. Staff responsible were also not privy to key information about Benedict’s allergy.
“Benedict’s death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures – individual, institutional, and systemic,” Helen said, shortly after the inquest returned its verdict.
In a statement, Benedict’s former school said: “The only comment that Barnack Primary School wishes to make at this point in time, is to offer its sincere and heartfelt condolences to Benedict’s family at the tragic loss of Benedict.”
Benedict’s Law
There is currently no legislation that exists to protect children with allergies, and so Helen is working to ensure no other children die at school from an allergy.
“Schools are left to interpret patchy, vague guidance and to carry life-or-death responsibility alone. This is unforgivable,” she said.
Following a campaign by the Benedict Blythe Foundation, set up in his memory, Redditch MP Chris Bloor presented the Schools (Allergy Safety) Bill, also known as Benedict’s Law to parliament on 9 July.
Pic: Family handout
“With an ever-growing number of children requiring allergy care, it has never been more vital that the place we entrust with the care of our children – the school where we drop them off every day – is a safe and secure environment, but too often it is not,” he told the House of Commons.
The law would require an allergy policy in every school, training for staff on how to identify reactions and deal with them, and spare adrenaline pens in every school.
It is backed by more than 50 MPs, a petition signed by more than 10,000 members of the public.
“We’ve done a huge amount of research and kind of built a really strong evidence base for this, including kind of a way of delivering Benedict’s Law so that it means it doesn’t cost the government any money,” Helen told Sky News.
Most children with undiagnosed allergies have a reaction for the first time at school, she said.
“Humans will always make mistakes, but there has to be a system in the background that allows for that because at the moment it is left up to chance when things go wrong.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said what happened to Benedict was a tragedy.
“Our thoughts remain with all of those who loved him,” they said.
“We recognise that allergies can be a barrier to children feeling safe and included at school, and are planning to consult on strengthened guidance for schools later this year.”
UK
Specialist teams and online investigators deployed across England and Wales to tackle ‘national emergency’ of violence against women and girls
Specialist investigation teams for rape and sexual offences are to be created across England and Wales as the Home Secretary declares violence against women and girls a “national emergency”.
Shabana Mahmood said the dedicated units will be in place across every force by 2029 as part of Labour’s violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy due to be launched later this week.
The use of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs), which had been trialled in several areas, will also be rolled out across England and Wales. They are designed to target abusers by imposing curfews, electronic tags and exclusion zones.
The orders cover all forms of domestic abuse, including economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and ‘honour’-based abuse. Breaching the terms can carry a prison term of up to 5 years.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Govt ‘thinking again’ on abuse strategy
Nearly £2m will also be spent funding a network of officers to target offenders operating within the online space.
Teams will use covert and intelligence techniques to tackle violence against women and girls via apps and websites.
A similar undercover network funded by the Home Office to examine child sexual abuse has arrested over 1,700 perpetrators.
Abuse is ‘national emergency’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement: “This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.
“For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.
“Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Angiolini Inquiry: Recommendations are ‘not difficult’
The target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is a Labour manifesto pledge.
The government said the measures build on existing policy, including facial recognition technology to identify offenders, improving protections for stalking victims, making strangulation a criminal offence and establishing domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms.
Read more from Sky News:
Demands for violence and abuse reforms
Women still feel unsafe on streets
Minister ‘clarifies’ violence strategy
Labour has ‘failed women’
But the Conservatives said Labour had “failed women” and “broken its promises” by delaying the publication of the violence against women and girls strategy.
Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said that Labour “shrinks from uncomfortable truths, voting against tougher sentences and presiding over falling sex-offender convictions. At every turn, Labour has failed women.”
There have been no migrant arrivals in small boats crossing the Channel for 28 days, according to Home Office figures.
The last recorded arrivals were on 14 November, making it the longest uninterrupted run since autumn 2018 after no reported arrivals on Friday.
However, a number of Border Force vessels were active in the English Channel on Saturday morning, indicating that there may be arrivals today.
So far, 39,292 people have crossed to the UK aboard small boats this year – already more than any other year except 2022.
The record that year was set at 45,774 arrivals.
It comes as the government has stepped up efforts in recent months to deter people from risking their lives crossing the Channel – but measures are not expected to have an impact until next year.
Debris of a small boat used by people thought to be migrants to cross the Channel lays amongst the sand dunes in Gravelines, France. Pic: PA
December is normally one of the quietest for Channel crossings, with a combination of poor visibility, low temperatures, less daylight and stormy weather making the perilous journey more difficult.
The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy met with ministers from other European countries this week as discussions over possible reform to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) continue.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
France agrees to start intercepting small boats
The issue of small boat arrivals – a very small percentage of overall UK immigration – has become a salient issue in British politics in recent years.
Last month, French maritime police announced they would soon be able to intercept boats in the English Channel.
The King has shared in a television address that, thanks to early diagnosis, his cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year.
In a televised address, Charles said his “good news” was “thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders”.
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years,” he added.
“Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50% of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.”
The King announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment.
The monarch postponed all public-facing engagements, but continued with his duties as head of state behind palace walls, conducting audiences and Privy Council meetings.
He returned to public duties in April last year and visited University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London with the Queen and discussed his “shock” at being diagnosed when he spoke to a fellow cancer patient.
Sources suggested last December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was “moving in a positive direction”.
The King began returning to public duties in April last year. File pic: PA
The King has chosen not to reveal what kind of cancer he has been treated for. Palace sources have partly put that down to the fact that he doesn’t want one type of cancer to appear more significant or attract more attention than others.
In a statement after the speech aired, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “His Majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase.”
Sir Keir Starmer praised the video message as “a powerful message,” and said: “I know I speak for the entire country when I say how glad I am that his cancer treatment will be reduced in the new year.
“Early cancer screening saves lives.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch: King Charles gives update on treatment
Early detection can give ‘the precious gift of hope’
His message on Friday was broadcast at 8pm in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.
In an appeal to people to get screened for the disease early, the King said: “I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming.
“Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams – and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope. These are gifts we can all help deliver.”
Charles noted that “at least nine million people in our country are not up to date with the cancer screenings available to them,” adding: “That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed.
“The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in ten people survive for at least five years.
“When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in ten. Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
Minor inconvenience of screening ‘a small price to pay’
The King acknowledged that people often avoid screening “because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable”. But, he added: “If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.
“A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don’t need further tests, or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow.”
Read more from Sky News:
Christmas tree chopped down hours after lights switch-on
More photos from Epstein’s estate released
Taylor Swift breaks down in tears over Southport attacks
Giving his “most heartfelt thanks” to doctors, nurses, researchers and charity workers, the King added: “As I have observed before, the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion. But compassion must be paired with action.
“This December, as we gather to reflect on the year past, I pray that we can each pledge, as part of our resolutions for the year ahead, to play our part in helping to catch cancer early.
“Your life – or the life of someone you love – may depend upon it.”
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024