Schools are subject to the Health and Safety (First Aid) Act 1981 and therefore have the same minimum legal First Aid requirements as workplaces. However, the HSE guidelines for First Aid at Work only cover employees. Schools have an additional obligation to provide First Aid provision for students.
Doing your Due Diligence? Surrey First Aid Quality Assurance
So what does your School need to do to comply?
Assessment of First Aid needs
The first thing employers need to do is carry out an assessment of their first aid needs. You will need to consider the following things
- Employees – how many do you have? Do they have any disabilities or health problems?
- Pupils – how many do you have? Do they have any disabilities or health problems
- What injuries and illnesses have happened in your school before?
- Are your premises spread out? – you may need first aid provisions for each building, floor etc. What about schools trips and off-site activities?
- Do you have cover for when staff are absent – you may need extra provisions to cover annual leave and unexpected absences.
- Specific risks – such as sports or science
What kind of First Aid do I need?
The Emergency First Aid at Work and First Aid at Work training qualifications are needed to meet your HSE requirements. We offer an Emergency First Aid for Schools course, which tailors this content so that it is appropriate for children and for a school setting.
How many First Aid personnel do I need?
There are 3 types of first aid personnel
- Appointed person – The person in charge of first aid provision who looks after equipment and calls the emergency services.
- EFAW Trained – EFAW stands for Emergency First Aid at Work, this is one day (6 hour) course
- FAW Trained – FAW stands for First Aid at Work, this is 3 day (18 hour) course
| Level of hazard | No. of people | First aid personnel needed |
| Low-hazard | < 25 | At least one appointed person |
| 25-50 | At least one EFAW trained First Aider | |
| >50 | At least one FAW trained First Aider for every 100 people (or part thereof) |
These are your minimum legal requirements, however good first aid provisions can literally save lives. We would always encourage you to go above and beyond the bare minimum to ensure your staff and pupils are safe. We recommend you train all your staff in Basic Life Support so that help is always readily available in the event of an emergency.
You may also want to consider additional First Aid training for specialist activities; sports departments may require Emergency First Aid for Sports; D of E leaders may require Remote Outdoor First Aid Training, and Early Years departments will require Paediatric First Aid.
We offer all of the courses mentioned above and can tailor these courses to your specific needs. You can find information about all of our courses here.
Know what you need?
Individuals or small groups visit our public courses page to see upcoming dates. Groups looking for in-house training send us an enquiry via our group booking enquiry form
If you are still unsure and would like to discuss your first aid requirements with us further, we will always be happy to help! Give us a call on 01483 238 268 or email us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sources:
Health and Safety Executive (no date) Legislation available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/legislation.htm
Health and Safety Executive (2014) First Aid at Work: Your questions answered, available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg214.pdf