Natasha’s Foundation Launches Youth Ambassador Programme

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation is celebrating a major milestone this month as Allergy School, its £1 million national food allergy education programme, turns one and to mark the occasion, the charity has launched a powerful new Youth Ambassador Programme.

Since launching in February 2025, more than 22,000 people have engaged with Allergy School’s free resources, helping to improve food allergy awareness in schools across the UK and create safer, more inclusive learning environments for children and young people.

Empowering young people to become national voices for change

To coincide with Allergy School’s first anniversary, Natasha’s Foundation has welcomed eight young people aged 16 to 25 into its new Youth Ambassador Programme.

Developed with funding from The Health Lottery Foundation and Wooden Spoon, and delivered in partnership with Goal 17, an award-winning social enterprise specialising in high-impact youth mentoring, the programme supports young people with lived experience of food allergies to become confident advocates and national voices for change.

Over the next year, the Youth Ambassadors will use their experiences to:

Raise awareness of food allergies
Support other young people navigating allergy-related challenges
Influence education, policy and practice
Help drive the charity’s mission to make allergy history

Young allergy advocates for safer, allergy-aware schools

Zara Grace

“Following my peanut allergy diagnosis at 16, I chose to study Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Nottingham. I now combine my scientific background with my passion for advocacy, supporting Natasha’s Foundation to drive real change for the allergy community. I’m here to show that a diagnosis doesn’t have to limit your life, it can fuel your purpose.”

Nafatiti Nimako-Boatey

“Through Natasha’s Foundation I’m learning the importance of staying educated about food allergies, not just for me but for others around me too. I am immensely honoured to have been asked to become a Youth Ambassador and cannot wait to share my experiences and insights, as well as learn from others.”

Meet our youth ambassadors

Why Allergy School matters

Food allergy awareness and training in education remains inconsistent. Research carried out by the NASUWT teachers’ union, in collaboration with Natasha’s Foundation, revealed that:

95% of teachers have pupils with food allergies in their schools
67% have never received any formal allergy-awareness training

At the same time:

An estimated two children in every classroom are living with a food allergy
Hospital admissions for anaphylaxis continue to rise across the UK
A significant proportion of fatal allergic reactions in children happen outside the home, including in education settings

Despite this growing risk, allergy training for school staff is not yet mandatory, leaving many schools without consistent, accredited guidance.

Allergy School exists to fill that gap. It provides FREE accredited allergy and anaphylaxis training endorsed by the Department for Education for schools, setting a new national standard for food allergy awareness in education.

What is Allergy School?

Allergy School is a FREE, national education programme designed to help schools become more food allergy aware, inclusive and safe.

Since launch, the programme has expanded beyond primary schools and now supports:

Early years and nurseries
Secondary schools
Higher education
Out-of-school settings

The aim is simple. Every pupil should feel empowered, included and protected.

What’s included in Allergy School?

Allergy School offers a comprehensive suite of FREE, practical resources, including:

🎥 Five educational films for pupils and teachers, featuring Arlo the Armadillo, a puppet with food allergies
📚 Lesson plans, quizzes, assemblies and classroom resources
🧰 A self-assessment tool to help schools measure how allergy-inclusive they are
🚑 First-aid guidance and allergy emergency response advice and training
🎓 City & Guilds accredited allergy and anaphylaxis training for all school staff and settings

The primary school resources were developed with partners including The King’s Foundation, St John Ambulance, Coram Life Education, High Speed Training and Tesco Stronger Starts.

Expanding allergy and anaphylaxis support across education

The programme has now been extended to:

Early years settings, aligned with the new Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework 2025.
Secondary schools, with best practice guidance and a short film showing how to respond in a food allergy emergency.
Universities and Colleges across the UK.

All resources are:

Mapped to the National Curriculum
Endorsed by the Department for Education

Putting young people at the centre of Allergy School

Allergy School is also working with the youth-led i-MATTER programme to explore the social and emotional impact of food allergies, including anxiety, exclusion and bullying.

Together, they are co-creating new resources that promote:

Empathy
Confidence
Understanding
Inclusion

This work ensures that young people’s voices and lived experiences are at the heart of everything Natasha’s Foundation does.

A message from Natasha’s Foundation

Jan Parnell, Director of Education at The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said:

“Since the launch of Allergy School a year ago, we have delivered accredited training on allergy and anaphylaxis to thousands of educators and developed a bank of resources that cover all key phases of education, helping staff to embed food allergy awareness in their practice.

“We have co-created our resources with national training and education partners and schools, and are delighted to welcome our new Youth Ambassadors to help deliver and support our mission to improve the lives of children and young people with food allergies.”