Resources

These lesson plans and teacher guidance will help young people to recognise and respond to common first aid situations and support schools to meet the statutory Health Education requirements to cover first aid.

The accompanying teacher guidance and range of activities will support teachers to create a safe and effective learning environment, thus creating a coherent long-term plan for First Aid education from KS2 through to KS4.

KS2

Lesson plans covering the following six first aid topics have been awarded the Quality Mark:

• Asthma: Causes and what to do if someone is having an asthma attack
• Bites and stings: First aid for bites and stings and responding to allergic reactions
• Bleeding: First aid for bleeding and shock
• Choking: What to do if a toddler, child, or adult is choking
• Emergencies and calling for help: Responding in an emergency situation and calling emergency services
• Head injuries: First aid for minor and severe head injuries

KS3 & 4

We have also quality assured nine lesson plans for key stages 3 and 4. These revisit the same six topics as the KS2 materials — though go into greater depth and consider more independent contexts — and introduce the following additional areas:

• Basic life support: Primary survey, recovery position, CPR and using AEDs
• Bone, muscle, and joint injuries (KS4): First aid for bone, muscle, and joint injuries
• Chest pain (KS4): Causes of chest pain and first aid for angina/heart attacks

Karen Summers, PSHE Association Subject Specialist
"The St John Ambulance ‘First Aid Training in School’ KS2 lessons provide pupils with first aid knowledge, skills and understanding. A variety of different topics are covered in the resource including: Bleeding, Bites & Stings, Emergencies and Calling for help, Choking, Head Injuries and Asthma. In addition, the resource includes film clips, powerpoints to support lesson plans as well as engaging activities to assist pupils in applying their first aid skills to different situations. The lessons would make a valuable contribution to helping pupils recognise the importance of first aid for dealing with common injuries."

PSHE Association secondary Subject Specialist Bethan Miller said:
“These resources allow students to develop knowledge about First Aid and rehearse a wide range of vital skills. They can be used to introduce these skills or build upon prior learning at Key Stage 2. The lessons contain instructional videos, PowerPoints and activities that allow students to practice skills in the safe environment of the classroom and gives scenarios to bring these skills into the context of the real world.”