FAQ about secondary school training compliance, inc. first aid
With so many options to choose from, researching training options for your school can be a little daunting!
This blog will help you find compliance-friendly courses and know how to handle a serious incident. We hope it’ll save you a lot of time and protect you from any nasty surprises!
What training do schools need for compliance?
As a secondary school, you need to consider staff training in four key areas:
- First Aid
- Safeguarding
- Fire Safety
- Food Safety
This blog will cover these four mandatory training areas in detail. To begin with, we’ll answer the most common question we receive about first aid training…
How do we know what first aid training our secondary school needs?
Sit down, preferably with a colleague, and determine your school’s risk using a ‘First Aid Needs Assessment’ form. We’ll email you a copy if you need one.
Once you’ve completed the form, you’ll know exactly how many first-aiders your school needs.
How do we choose a first-aid training provider?
It’s your school’s responsibility to ensure that first aiders have received ‘appropriate first aid training delivered by a competent first aid training provider’.
The easiest way to do this is to check that your potential provider’s courses meet the HSE’s requirements, as all of ours do.
We also suggest asking the course provider to send you recent reviews from other secondary schools. Look out for positive keywords, such as ‘memorable’, ‘engaging’ and ‘relevant’.
Our ‘First Aid Course FAQs’ blog will also help.
Which Safe and Sound first aid courses are most popular for secondary schools?
Our three-day First Aid at Work course gives your nominated First Aider/s the skills needed to provide first aid to adults.
Our one-day on-site Schools First Aid course covers all of the first aid emergencies that arise most frequently in primary and secondary schools. This course teaches how to:
- Assess and manage an incident
- Handle choking, asphyxia, seizures, asthma, wounds, bleeds and allergic reactions
- Save lives by delivering CPR or using an AED (defibrillator)
All attendees receive a nationally recognised FAIB Emergency First Aid at Work certificate. This is valid for three years.
These courses can be taken together so that learners can provide first aid for both children and adults.
“Our trainer kept it as informal but as informative as last time! Thoroughly recommend this training… it should be taught in all secondary
schools/colleges.”
What safeguarding training will our teachers need?
When it comes to safeguarding, you need as many eyes and ears on the ground as possible. The DoE states that “it is essential that everybody working in a school or college understands their safeguarding responsibilities… by reading at least Part one of this guidance.”
In reality, safeguarding is a tricky topic and many staff members need training that allows them to explore different scenarios with someone qualified to give advice.
We offer safeguarding training courses for secondary school staff. Our half-day on-site Safeguarding and Child Protection Awareness for Schools course helps staff identify different types of abuse and know what to do if they have any concerns.
Please note, that any staff with designated responsibilities for safeguarding will need to attend additional training that your local authority will provide.
What fire safety training does our school need?
When it comes to fire safety, your school is subject to the same requirements as any workplace. These are laid out in The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005). In brief, you need to conduct a Fire Risk Assessment and provide training and information to employees about fire precautions.
All staff, including part-timers, contractors and cleaners need training in four key areas:
- Prevention, rules and regulations
- What to do if there’s a fire
- Equipment and good practice
- Fire alarms
All staff should be trained as soon as they start work at your school and have refresher training every three years. Our on-site Statutory Fire Awareness course takes just three hours to give learners essential fire safety knowledge.
In addition, staff members taking responsibility for fire safety, such as department heads, fire marshals, kitchen staff or security staff, should receive more regular training. Our half-day on-site Fire Marshal training course has been designed by professional firefighters. We also offer online Fire Marshal training via our partner site, eLearn Here Direct.
You can find lots of useful information in these blogs:
Do we need to provide food safety training?
Some members of your team will need food safety training to stay on the right side of an Ofsted inspection. For example:
- Catering staff
- Anyone teaching food technology
- Anyone leading cookery clubs or food activities
We offer food safety training on-site or online from eLearn Here Direct.
What about mental health training for schools?
As an employer, schools have a legal duty to protect their staff from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it.
You should assess the risk of stress, and its impact on mental and physical ill-health, in the same way as you assess other work-related health and safety risks.
Mental health training can help schools ensure they are taking care of their staff in compliance with the law.
We’ll look at this in detail later in the year.
