Blythe vomited twice before collapsing at Barnack Primary in December 2021 and was pronounced dead in hospital a short while later.
During the inquest into his death at Peterborough Town Hall, the jurors concluded that Blythe died following an accidental exposure to cow’s milk protein.
The five-year-old suffered from asthma and was allergic to eggs, nuts, kiwi fruit and milk, and his parents worked with the school to put a “number of preventative measures” in place to protect him.
These included a personal allergy action plan and a specific process for storing, preparing and supplying oat milk to him while at school.
The action plan required the milk, which was labelled with Blythe’s name, to be stored in the staff fridge and then poured into his cup in the classroom and handed to him directly. However, on the day of his death the milk was poured in the staff room and then taken to him in the classroom, which created “opportunities for cross-contamination or mix-up of milk”.
Jurors also found there were delays in administering an adrenalin pen by staff, while the school did not learn from a previous incident where Blythe was served pizza for lunch which made him sick.
The foreperson of the jury told the court: “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.”
In a statement to the BBC, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “What happened to Benedict was a tragedy for his family and deeply affected all those involved on the day that he died.
“The Department for Education was represented at the inquest, and will consider the jury’s conclusions carefully.”
Speaking after the inquest, the boy’s mother Helen Blythe called for a new law requiring schools to have proper allergy plans in place in order to protect pupils.
“Three and a half years ago, we lost our son,” she said.
“Benedict died in a place where he should have been safe – his school.
“Since then, we’ve been left in silence – without answers, without accountability. It has taken years of painful waiting, legal processes and relentless perseverance just to uncover the truth. And even now, the truth is devastating.
“There were critical failings from the very beginning. The investigation at the time was inadequate as the evidence needed to establish how and why he died was never obtained. Because of that, precious time was lost – and with it, opportunities to understand what happened to our son.
“Benedict’s death was preventable and was caused by a cascade of failures – individual, institutional and systemic.”
