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School staff in tears over boy's allergy death

Eleanor Maslin
BBC News
Family handout A young boy with dark blond hair is sitting on a step outside a blue door. He is wearing a burgundy school uniform with long grey socks and black shoes. The school uniform's jumper has a yellow circular logo, and he has a matching school bag next to him. He is looking up to the side and smiling.Family handout
Benedict Blythe went to Barnack Primary School, between Peterborough and Stamford

Teaching assistants fought back tears as they gave evidence at an inquest into how a five-year-old boy died after suffering an allergic reaction at school.

Benedict Blythe, from Stamford, Lincolnshire, was administered with an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) and given CPR after he had been sick two times and collapsed at Barnack Primary School in December 2021.

Teaching assistant Sophie Brown told the inquest Benedict was off school the day before "so I assumed it was a bug" rather than an allergic reaction.

Chelsea Back, who was a 16-year-old apprentice teaching assistant on the day of Benedict's death, cried as, supported by her grandmother, she told she was aware of his allergies.

Benedict had asthma and a number of allergies, including milk and eggs. He died due to food-induced anaphylaxis.

The second day of a two-week inquest into Benedict's death was held at Peterborough City Hall on Tuesday.

Family handout A young boy peeking round the corner of a grey post smiling in a cheeky way and holding a brown monkey teddy up to his cheek. He has dark blond hair and a fringe and is wearing a black coat. The bottom of the Eiffel Tower is in the background, as is a reflection of a blue van.Family handout
Benedict took his toy monkey Ray everywhere with him, his mum told the jury

Ms Back said she was aware of Benedict's allergies and knew where to find the medical bag in the classroom.

"I knew if I needed that I would find it", she told the inquest, as she cried with her grandmother sitting alongside her as she gave evidence.

The inquest had previously heard from Dr Emelia Wawrzkowicz, a consultant paediatrician at Peterborough City Hospital who worked with Benedict on his allergies. Giving evidence on Monday, she said "he always needed to have access to adrenaline".

Dr Wawrzkowicz said the advice would always be to "if in doubt" administer the AAI if it was suspected someone may be experiencing an allergic reaction, which is the same advice given by Anaphylaxis UK.

However, Ms Brown told the inquest this advice was not conveyed to her as "part of my training".

Area coroner Elizabeth Gray said Benedict had been kept off school on 30 November due to being sick twice the night before.

He went back to school on 1 December after his mother Helen, who gave evidence on Monday, said he "was fine and didn't appear to be unwell".

Family handout A young boy with dark blond hair with a fringe across his forehead is leaning forward on to a table from a wicker chair and smiling at the camera. He is wearing a white and black polo shirt. On the table is a glass of orange juice and some colourful building blocks that an adult is setting up.Family handout
Benedict had an anaphylactic reaction and collapsed at school

The inquest heard that, while he was outside with other children during the morning break on 1 December, Benedict had a gingerbread biscuit he had taken with him from home.

Ms Back told the inquest she remembered unwrapping Benedict's biscuit for him and saw him eat it after he had gone to sit with another child.

He then returned to the classroom where he was offered oat milk but was said to have refused it.

He was sick shortly after that and his parents were asked to collect him from school at about 10:30 GMT.

Ms Brown cleaned him up and read a book with him. He was "happy and giggling" before he was sick again.

He was taken outside to get some fresh air while his parents were contacted again, before he collapsed and was carried back to a classroom.

An adrenaline auto-injector was administered twice by Ms Brown and CPR was started, the inquest heard.

Mrs Blythe said Benedict's father Peter arrived by about 10:40 and she arrived at 10:57.

Emergency services attended and carried out further CPR before Benedict was taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:57.

'Exceptionally bright'

On Monday, Mrs Blythe told the inquest that Benedict was "well aware of his allergies" and a document had been given to the school which contained information on his allergies, his asthma and the reactions he had experienced.

She said vomiting was the "first sign" of an allergic reaction, and "how it played [out] after that varied".

Before he started at Barnack Primary, Mrs Blythe said she had gone on two tours of the school and was "reassured by the level of care offered" and "satisfied the school would be able to cope with his allergies".

Benedict's father, 44-year-old Peter Blythe, described his son as an "exceptionally bright child" who "spent hours building figure train tracks".

In a statement read out on his behalf on the second day of the inquest, he wrote: "Ben absolutely loved school. He was thriving in the three months he was there.

"I miss him every day."

The inquest continues.

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