As a tutor for South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), and as a mother of two young children, it has become very clear to me that young people in our primary and secondary schools are in need of learning vital lifesaving skills.
I have been a CFR (Community First Responder) for over five years, and during this time have run many emergency first aid sessions for my local community. After jumping at the opportunity of training to become a CFR Tutor, I chose to continue training and become a fully certified first aid instructor. This led to the birth of Impulse First Aid, my newly established business, specialising in the teaching of emergency first aid to children, parents, schools and small businesses. Unfortunately my journey halted at the start of the summer holidays from a riding accident which left me with a broken back and a TV appearance on Channel 4’s 24 hours in A & E programme (due to air later this year). With thanks to the support of our ambulance service (SECAmb) and the team at St Georges hospital in Tooting I have been able to continue my passion of teaching, and love every second of it!
Further to the success of teaching Super Medics (a first aid course aimed at children over the ages of 7) to the children at my local primary school, I have been called back to teach the remaining KS2 years. In addition, I have also been able to book sessions with other primary schools, which I am very much looking forward to. I never realised quite how fun it would be, teaching first aid to children. I absolutely love it! I have also started an after school Super Medics programme for the children, allowing them to explore the subject of first aid and gain practical skills and confidence along the way. Inspiring children to get involved, be confident in their knowledge of what to do in an emergency has been thoroughly rewarding! I have also been lucky enough to be involved in the ‘Restart a Heart’ programme this year, voluntarily teaching over 60 year 6 students the lifesaving skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The scheme is endorsed by the British Heart Foundation, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Red Cross in addition to SECAmb and other leading organisations.
Every child should be taught first aid, and what they can do to help in the event of a medical emergency. The few hours in the classroom, could, and has proven to help children develop and be confident in their newfound skills. Understanding what a defibrillator is, learning how to use one in addition to basic lifesaving skills is an incredibly valuable and rewarding skill to have.
With the government’s recent proposals to teach first aid skills and CPR as part of compulsory first aid training from 2020, a massive difference could be made, and many lives saved. The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance are part of the ‘Every Child a Lifesaver’ coalition, which has been campaigning in recent years to make first aid training available in schools. It is known that less than 1 in 10 people survive an ‘out of hospital’ cardiac arrest in the UK. By providing the children with the tools and confidence to perform these invaluable skills, while also knowing how to look out for themselves and any potential dangers would be fantastic.
If you would like any more information on our range of first aid courses, including Super Medics, First Aid at Work (FAW) and Paediatric First Aid (PFA) which is approved by Ofsted and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you.