A wnaiff y Gweinidog esbonio pa gynllun sydd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn ei le i wella ymwybyddiaeth plant o alergeddau bwyd, a datgan faint o arian sydd wedi'i ddyrannu i hyfforddi disgyblion ac athrawon i ddefnyddio "epipen"?
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Wales leads on food hypersensitivity, which includes food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease. Part of the FSA’s role is promoting consumer awareness of food hypersensitivity. In December 2014, allergen-related rules within the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011 became statutory. This means that all food businesses, including school caterers, are required to make information available on allergenic ingredients deliberately added to the food and drink they serve.
In meeting this requirement, processes should be in place to protect vulnerable individuals where the institution has a 'duty of care', for example in schools. In particular, school canteens have to ensure that children with a food hypersensitivity are only served food which is safe for them to eat.
Beyond this, headteachers, school governors and their caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies that take into account local circumstances. For instance, schools may be nut or peanut free which means that their caterers do not use nuts or peanuts as ingredients, and that all pupils and parents are advised not to include nuts or peanuts in lunch boxes.
The ‘Supporting Learners with Healthcare Needs’ statutory guidance encourages consideration of how friendship groups and peers may be able to assist learners, and suggests extending awareness of healthcare needs across the education setting, including other learners. The guidance states that school staff should be trained to recognise the signs, symptoms and triggers of common life-threatening
medical conditions and know what to do in an emergency. This includes training on how to administer an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI). Further information on using emergency AAIs is contained in ‘Guidance on the use of emergency adrenaline auto-injectors in schools in Wales’.
The Welsh Government does not allocate funding specifically for training pupils and teachers on using AAIs. As part of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) element of the curriculum, schools are able, at their discretion, to invite organisations like the Anaphylaxis Campaign to present to their pupils.