Why School Age Children Should Be Taught First Aid

First aid is a life-saving skill and one that should be taught to individuals from a young age.

There is currently a campaign by the majority of the main political parties, charities and the Mail on Sunday, backing the addition of first aid to the curriculum – and Live For Work supports this initiative.

During the run-up to the General Election in May 2015, major parties lent their support to the campaign calling for first aid to be added to the curriculum. The Liberal Democrats, Labour, UKIP and the Green Party, all included the addition of first aid lessons for schools within their manifestos. The Conservatives were the only major party not to make this pledge.

Why Adding First Aid To The Curriculum Matters

By adding first aid to the curriculum, school-age children could be taught the vital skills that could, one day, save many people’s lives. When someone falls ill or has a heart attack in a public place, first aiders can make a massive difference to the individual’s chances of survival – in a number of cases, first aid makes all the difference, especially if the incident happens in a rural or busy location, where ambulances take a few minutes longer to arrive.

Teaching young children how to apply first aid will not only potentially save a huge number of lives in the future but empower individuals to have confidence in their life-saving abilities. Too often, people hesitate in coming forward to help someone in distress, but education can help to remove this barrier.

Teach First Aid – & More

Investing in first aid education for school children is a fantastic initiative and one we sincerely hope becomes a reality soon.

It could transform society by enabling skills to be taught by older children to their peers to further spread the knowledge of first aid delivery.

There should also be more AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in public places as these devices save lives by providing an electric shock to restore the beating rhythm that the heart loses during cardiac arrest. In large organisations or in rural places, AEDs can increase an individual’s chances of surviving cardiac arrest by up to 65%, especially if the ambulance takes a couple of minutes longer to arrive.

Let’s Have More AEDs

Ideally, an AED should be applied and used within the first three minutes of the victim suffering cardiac arrest. CPR is often not enough on its own, and an AED really can make a life-saving difference.

However, people need to be educated on the benefits of using AEDs and the best time to start is with individuals of a young age – with school children.

AEDs are designed to be used by anyone, and teaching children these skills – together with first aid skills – will empower them and could save hundreds of lives in the future.

If your school is looking for First Aid training for staff get in touch with us Tel: 07989 655 280 E: info@liveforwork.co.uk