Know what an allergy is, how to prevent an allergic reaction, and what to do if one occurs. Make sure all your staff members know where the medication is kept and have quick, easy access to it. Never keep life-saving medicine in locked cabinets. In an effort to keep the offending allergens out of school altogether, many schools have enacted bans on peanuts and other foods. Even if you succeed in preventing students from bringing peanut butter to school, peanuts and peanut fragments are present in countless other foods.
Bans are divisive.
Families often resist being told what they can and can't send to school in their child's lunch, and a cooperative environment is essential in dealing with food allergies. It's not realistic to expect parents and staff to read every ingredient label and call manufacturers to make sure a product does not contain the banned food. Peanuts are a leading cause of serious allergic reactions in children, but milk and eggs can be just as life-threatening. Bans stigmatize allergic students, who just want to be seen as normal, and they don't teach them how to deal with what could be a lifelong condition. Don't use food in class projects, or as incentives or rewards, and monitor the food that comes into school for class celebrations.