Emergency Paediatric First Aid at Your Workplace

Why this course matters

A child in respiratory distress or cardiac arrest needs a very different response to an adult — the techniques, the ratios, the approach to the airway and the order of intervention all change depending on whether you are treating an infant under one or a child over one. Without specific paediatric training, even a confident adult first aider can hesitate at the critical moment.

This Emergency Paediatric First Aid course, delivered by our experienced instructors on site at your nursery, school or childcare setting, gives your team the practical muscle memory and decision-making confidence to act immediately — without waiting for an ambulance. One flat price of from £495 + VAT covers your whole group of up to 12 people, with no travel costs or lost time commuting to an external venue.

Who is this course for?

This course is well suited to anyone whose working day involves the supervision and care of children or infants, including:

• Nursery practitioners and early years keyworkers
• Registered childminders and childminding assistants
• Teaching assistants and learning support staff
• After-school, breakfast and holiday club leaders
• Sports coaches, PE staff and activity leaders working with young people
• Nannies, au pairs and family day-care providers
• Play workers and youth group leaders

The course covers infants (under one year) and children (one year to puberty), so it is relevant across the full range of early years and school-age settings.

Need the full statutory EYFS qualification? If your setting requires the designated always-present paediatric first aider, our two-day Paediatric First Aid (Level 3) — Qualsafe Awards (Ofqual-regulated) — is the qualification that maps to the complete EYFS Annex A syllabus.

What your team will learn

The syllabus focuses on the emergency skills that make the biggest difference in a real incident. By the end of the day your team will be able to:

• Carry out a primary survey (DR ABC) on an infant or child — systematically check for danger, response, airway, breathing and circulation
• Perform infant CPR — using the correct two-finger (or two-thumb encircling) technique, five initial rescue breaths and a 15:2 compression-to-breath ratio
• Perform child CPR — five rescue breaths to start, then 15:2 compressions and breaths at the correct depth and rate (100–120 compressions per minute)
• Use an AED safely on a child — including pad placement, managing a child-specific or adult AED, and minimising interruptions to compressions
• Clear a choking infant — five back blows followed by five chest thrusts; understanding why abdominal thrusts must never be used on an infant
• Clear a choking child — back blows and abdominal thrusts in the correct sequence; transitioning to CPR if the child becomes unresponsive
• Place an unconscious child in the recovery position — adapted technique for infants and children to maintain an open airway
• Control serious bleeding — direct pressure, elevation and wound packing basics for significant injuries in young patients
• Recognise and respond to shock — signs of circulatory shock in children and the immediate management steps
• Manage a seizure or febrile convulsion — protecting the child, timing the seizure, when to call 999, and what to do once it stops
• Recognise anaphylaxis — identifying the signs of a severe allergic reaction and understanding when and how to respond
• Call 999 effectively — what information the emergency services need, and how to give high-quality telephone CPR guidance while waiting for the ambulance
• Prevent cross-infection — hygiene, gloves, safe disposal and reporting responsibilities

How the day runs

Your trainer arrives at your premises before the session starts, sets up the manikins and equipment, and introduces the day with a short, plain-English explanation of how paediatric emergencies differ from adult ones and why specific techniques are needed. There are no lengthy lectures — the focus is on demonstration followed by hands-on practice.

Learners work through a structured sequence of practical scenarios: infant CPR, child CPR, AED use, choking drills for both age groups, recovery positions, bleeding control and seizure management. Your trainer observes, corrects and coaches throughout. Scenarios are repeated until each learner is confident.

The session ends with a practical assessment of each learner. Your trainer gives clear feedback on the spot. There is no written exam paper, and the assessment format is designed to be straightforward for any learner who engages fully with the day.

Approximate timings: a full day including a lunch break and short comfort breaks. No precise clock times are prescribed — your trainer works at the group's pace to ensure skills are embedded, not rushed.

Assessment & certificate

Assessment is continuous and practical throughout the day. Learners are observed performing the key skills — CPR, choking management, recovery position, bleeding control — rather than answering a separate question paper. Learners who meet the required standard are issued an Emergency Paediatric First Aid certificate, valid for three years from the date of assessment, under FAIB accreditation.

FAIB (First Aid Industry Body) qualifications are accepted by HSE and meet the requirements of the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. The certificate is also accepted by Ofsted in the contexts for which this qualification is appropriate.

Why train on site? The practical and financial case

Sending staff on a public course means travel costs, vehicle time, mileage claims, and staff returning tired after a day away. Booking Emergency Paediatric First Aid on site at your workplace changes that equation entirely:

• Fixed price, unlimited benefit — from £495 + VAT for the whole day, regardless of whether you send four people or twelve. At twelve people that works out at under £42 per head before VAT.
• Zero travel time or cost — staff train in your own building and are back at their desks or with their key children the moment the session ends.
• Minimal disruption — you choose the date, and the session runs around your shifts and ratios. No last-minute cover to arrange because staff are off-site.
• We bring everything — paediatric and infant manikins, AED trainer units, all printed materials and certification paperwork. You just need a room.
• Scenarios in your real environment — your trainer can reference the layout of your setting, your specific first aid kit location and your own emergency action plan. That real-world relevance is impossible to replicate at a remote training centre.
• The whole team learns together — consistent knowledge, consistent procedures, no version drift between staff who attended on different days at different venues.

The regulatory background: EYFS, HSE and paediatric first aid

The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require every employer to provide adequate first aid provision based on a needs assessment. For childcare settings registered with Ofsted, the EYFS Statutory Framework (DfE) adds a further layer: at least one person holding a current, full Paediatric First Aid certificate must be on the premises and available at all times children are present.

The Emergency Paediatric First Aid qualification (minimum six guided learning hours) is the shorter of the two paediatric pathways. It is well suited for:

• Newly hired Level 2 or Level 3 childcare staff who need to contribute to ratios quickly — the EYFS allows them up to three months to obtain a paediatric first aid certificate.
• Settings where some staff already hold the full Level 3 PFA and additional team members need a solid, FAIB-accredited emergency qualification.
• Any childcare, play or youth setting that wants every member of staff to have practical child emergency skills, not just the lead designated first aider.

If you are unsure which qualification your setting needs, call us on 0800 852 7739 or send us a message — we will give you a straight answer at no charge.