LONDON — The spare adrenaline kept in a school office could soon look very different. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) opened a consultation today on letting schools buy and hold adrenaline nasal sprays for emergency use on pupils with severe allergies, a needle-free alternative to the auto-injectors schools can already hold.
The proposal, run jointly with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, would amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so the legal exemption that lets schools keep auto-injectors without a prescription for a named pupil also covers the sprays. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and Health Minister James Frith said giving schools “another way to respond quickly to a severe allergic reaction could be life-saving.”
The MHRA’s case rests on two figures: around 8 percent of children and young people in the UK have a food allergy, and around 20 percent of serious allergic reactions to food happen in a school setting. The announcement does not say who counted either number or how, and the consultation page does not cite them.
The eight-week consultation closes on 14 December 2026. Schools would choose auto-injectors, sprays or both. According to the consultation page, either product could be used in an emergency whichever device a pupil has been prescribed. Existing safeguards stay: spare adrenaline could only go to children known to be at risk of anaphylaxis, and only from appropriately trained staff. It would remain a backup, not a replacement for pupils carrying their own medicine.
The spray is a recent arrival. The MHRA authorised it in July 2025, and its first version is intended for adults and children aged 10 and over who weigh 30 kg or more. As the agency said when it approved a lower dose on 12 June 2026, a 1 mg version is now indicated for children aged four and over who weigh between 15 kg and 30 kg. Separately, new allergy-safety requirements for schools in England came into force in September under the first phase of Benedict’s Law.
Julian Beach, the MHRA’s executive director of operations, called the sprays “an additional treatment option for children at risk of anaphylaxis.” Amena Warner of Allergy UK said a needle-free device would give parents and pupils “more confidence to use it promptly.” Reaction from school leaders was more careful. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said it is “important that any proposals are safe, practical and properly supported, with clear guidance and training for school staff.” Prof Adam Fox, chair of the National Allergy Strategy Group, welcomed the consultation but said schools must keep up with newer treatments “whilst ensuring that these additional options do not create confusion or unintended consequences.”
The practical questions are still open. Neither the announcement nor the consultation page says what a spray would cost a school, or who would pay for it.
