First aid education could help thousands of people a year; yet it isn’t it on the curriculum. This might go some way towards explaining why the majority of people in the UK lack the confidence or skills to intervene appropriately in an emergency situation.
The British Red Cross has tirelessly campaigned for years that all schools should teach first aid, and is now supporting the Emergency First Aid Bill, which will have its second reading in Parliament on 20 November, requiring that all state funded secondary schools in England teach first aid skills.
It makes perfect sense to make it an integral and compulsory part of school life; for example, according to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR treatment can double or triple the chances of survival for cardiac arrest casualties. Knowing what to do in an emergency is vital and I’ve seen what a difference it can make on more than one occasion, both in and out of school. I’ve heard of a teenager coming to the rescue of his stabbed friend; pupils who helped a collapsed pensioner; and a 12-year-old who saved her best friend from choking one lunchtime. Ask the people they helped whether they think first aid is an essential life skill.
The Red Cross recommends that schools make first aid skills and resilience building part of core subjects like science and PE but also through PHSE and citizenship, and as part of cross curricular work – and whilst first-aid learning isn’t mandatory, there is no excuse for not teaching it, really, especially with such fantastic materials available. First aid learning for young people is a free, web based collection of resources from the Red Cross that will support you admirably. You can select from a wide range of materials that includes videos, case studies, photos, animations, role-plays and activities, enabling you to build first aid skills sessions which are varied, interactive and learner-centred.
Skills and scenarios
The 16 first aid skill sets covered by this resource, and explored using realistic scenarios, are those related to: allergic reaction, asthma attack, bleeding heavily, broken bone, burns, choking, head injury, heart attack, hypothermia, meningitis, poisoning/ harmful substances, seizure/ epilepsy, strains and sprains, stroke, unconscious and breathing, unconscious and not breathing.
Each of the topics has a web page that includes either a video or written case study with supporting photography. They are presented using realistic contexts by articulate young people; questions are asked of you about what to do, before an overview of first aid steps are explained including useful animations. There is a knowledge quiz to test what you have learned and you can download a skills guide for future use. These superb first aid snippets are incredibly empowering and prove that a little first aid knowledge can go a very long way. But the resource goes much further than that when you register your details as a teacher, as it opens up a wider and deeper range of activities and resources for building first aid sessions including a very useful educator guide packed with essential information.
The activities on offer are split into four, and include starters, confidence building, knowledge building, and reflective and concluding activities. They build in complexity and start with the basics before progressing to more detailed ideas. Creating sessions is easy, as there is a session template provided that provides you with a framework to pick activities and a sample plan to get things going.
Active involvement
The role playing activities feature situations that are easy for students to imagine finding themselves in. Ideas for staging are suggested, and instructions given to enable learners to take the role of casualty, helper and bystander. These would be great for staff to engage in, too. Beyond this there are supporting resources which include all the films, film scripts, and stills – and there is also a first aid certificate and curriculum links guide.
Obviously assessment is central to any resource and the website offers a number of tools to evaluate confidence and knowledge before, during and after your first aid sessions. There is a ‘My Groups’ dashboard, which means you can review and track progress simply and effectively. Students can also do this by accessing their own ‘Learner Zone’ and looking at their own dashboard.
You might think that you need previous training or experience to teach first aid. However, the resources on this site assume no prior knowledge and are designed to show you how to take action using nontechnical language and supporting imagery. You don’t need any kit either (although don’t try chest compressions or back blows without using a manikin!)
Overall, these resources will help you practise ‘learning by doing’; analyse and reflect; test key skills; and help students be confident and spirited when it matters most. To reinforce these excellent materials I would strongly recommend that you sign up for actual hands-on professional training too, which the Red Cross is able to provide.
