First aid training for school children

This decision is a significant step in the right direction to empower the future generation to help people when a casualty needs first aid treatment. The Government proposes to teach first aid skills and CPR training as part of compulsory health education in all schools in England from 2020.

 Statistics show less than one in ten people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest in the UK, but evidence suggests one in four people could survive if young people were trained with basic life saving skills such as CPR. Statistics from countries such as Norway and Holland show survival rates as high as 73% with bystander CPR due to the confidence of the person performing the technique.

 It has taken years of campaigning with British Heart Foundation, St John’s Ambulance and British Red Cross who work together to form the ‘Every Child a Lifesaver’ campaign. In previous years the inclusion of first aid in the school curriculum was rejected and any child being taught first aid it was an extra curriculum activity.

 Furthermore, Lord Kerslake’s inquiry into the bombing of a Ariana Grande concert last May found members of the public tried to help the injured and dying but lacked the requisite skills. The report recommended more government support for first aid training. 22 people were killed at that concert and the inquiry praised the public’s response but also raised concerns that people were trying their very best in genuinely harrowing circumstances but did not appear familiar with first aid principles.

We will follow the progress of this decision with keen interest.

For more information on First aid training for school children talk to Wiltshire First Aid Training