Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died in 2016 aged just 15 after eating a baguette from Pret a Manger that contained traces of sesame seed.
Her grieving parents Tanya and Nadim set up the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) in 2019, and in February it launched a £1 million Allergy School, a suite of free educational resources to transform understanding of food allergies in schools.
Natasha’s mother Tanya Endnan-Laperouse visited Edith Neville Primary School in Euston, one of the first schools to take up her programme, along with early education minister Stephen Morgan on June 9.
Arlo the Armadillo and Harold the Giraffe learning about food allergies in one of the Allergy School films (Image: NARF)
She said: “Too many teachers have had no allergy training. It’s an unfair responsibility to tell them to safeguard children with allergies without giving them the tools to do it.”
Tanya discovered that Natasha had an allergy when she was a baby, but at first did not know exactly what she was allergic to.
She recalled: “It was very, very scary at the beginning because you are literally wading through dark waters doing everything you can to keep your child safe but you’re not too sure where the danger could come from.
St John Ambulance Film Still – in the event of anaphylaxis, lie the person down with their legs raised (Image: NARF)
“When you start understanding what the dangers are and come from – and that can be trial and error – in time you do get used to what you have to do, you learn to live with it.
“The frightening bits are when you have to start relying on other people who don’t understand those intricacies, for instance going to nursery, going to school and transitioning to secondary school, going on holiday.
“It’s learning to live with stressful situations but not letting it overwhelm you.”
Early education minister Stephen Morgan MP with Edith Neville Primary School pupils (Image: NARF)
The allergic reaction that led to Natasha’s death did not happen in school.
The Fulham teenager was on a trip to France with her father Nadim and a friend when she bought a baguette from Pret A Manger.
While the label indicated some ingredients such as peppers and olives, it did not mention sesame seeds.
When she began to feel ill and red welts appeared on her body, her father injected her with two EPI pens.
She fell unconscious and had multiple cardiac arrests. When French paramedics tried to restart her heart with a defibrillator, she briefly came back, but died later that day.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, primary school age, who died aged 15 after eating a baguette with no allergy information (Image: NARF)
The inquest did not take place for two years, during which Tanya grieved, getting up only to take care of her son, then aged 10.
Following the inquest she campaigned for Natasha’s Law – which requires full labelling of ingredients on all pre-packed food – which went through Parliament in 2019 .
Her mother said: “We were inundated with emails and letters from around the world saying ‘you have lived our worst nightmare’ . All the struggles they faced, I’d experienced it all myself. It was horrific to hear that from people.”
Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (Image: NARF)
After the inquest, Tanya and Nadim wanted to start a charity with a scientific, medical element and launched NARF in June 19.
They set to work on the Allergy School with a dedicated vision to stop allergy deaths.
NARF has discovered around two children in every classroom in the UK have a food allergy, and 20% of food allergic reactions occur in schools.
The tools, including teaching plans, are for three to 11-year-olds, with more in development for secondary school pupils.
Arlo the Armadillo makes learning fun for school children (Image: NARF)
A Sesame Street puppeteer created Arlo, a purple Armadillo, which is used as a resource for younger children, with films and quizzes among the teaching aids for all children.
But research by the NASUWT, the teachers’ union shows that 67% of teachers have had no allergy awareness training, and one in five teachers has never been taught how to administer an adrenaline auto-injector, which could save a life in a food allergy emergency.
Education Minister Stephen Morgan, Edith Neville head Ruby Nasser and Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’ mother Tanya (Image: NARF)
Edith Neville Primary School headteacher Ruby Nasser agreed that food allergies are a “significant issue”.
She added: “We are happy to be one of the first schools to start using Allergy School. The free resources are easy to use, fun, engaging and of high quality.
“Encouraging children to talk about food allergies and improve their understanding will without doubt help to keep all children safe.”
For more information, visit theallergyschool.org.uk
