Anyone with a professional duty of care for children and babies needs to know exactly what to do in the first few minutes of a medical emergency. TMS Insight’s Emergency Paediatric First Aid course equips nursery staff, childminders, nannies, teachers, teaching assistants, sports coaches, and activity leaders with the confidence and hands-on skills to act when it matters.
The qualification is regulated in the UK and awarded by First Aid Awards (FAA), sitting on both the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). It is delivered, assessed, and quality assured in line with the Assessment Principles for Regulated First Aid Qualifications and the current Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines.
This six-hour qualification meets the first aid requirements stated in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, making it a strong fit for settings where EYFS compliance is a condition of operation. Employers remain responsible for ensuring they have adequate numbers of appropriately trained personnel on site.
Learners spend the majority of the course on practical skills, using both infant and child manikins at floor level to replicate real-life emergencies as closely as possible. Scenario-based practice is combined with ongoing oral questioning from the trainer/assessor, so competence is built and evidenced together. The course can be delivered as a single day or spread across a maximum of four weeks (with each session a minimum of two hours), with a maximum ratio of 12 learners to 1 trainer/assessor.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, a participant will be able to:
- Understand the role and responsibilities of a paediatric first aider, including how to minimise the risk of infection to themselves and others.
- Differentiate between an infant and a child for the purposes of first aid treatment.
- Conduct a scene survey and primary survey on both an infant and a child, and summon appropriate assistance.
- Identify when to administer CPR and demonstrate effective CPR using both infant and child manikins.
- Place an unresponsive, breathing infant or child into the recovery position and continually monitor their breathing.
- Administer first aid to an infant or child who is experiencing a seizure.
- Recognise when an infant or child is choking and administer appropriate first aid.
- Identify whether external bleeding is life-threatening and administer appropriate first aid.
- Recognise shock in an infant or child and administer appropriate first aid.
- Administer first aid for bites, stings, small cuts, grazes, bumps and bruises, small splinters, and nosebleeds.
Target Audience
This qualification is designed for anyone with a professional responsibility for the care of infants and children, including:
- Early years practitioners and nursery staff
- Registered childminders and nannies
- Pre-school and primary school staff, including teaching assistants
- After-school club and holiday club leaders
- Sports coaches, activity leaders, and youth workers
- Parents, grandparents, and carers who want the reassurance of a regulated, practical qualification
Prerequisites
- Learners must be aged 16 or over.
- It is recommended that learners hold a minimum of Level 1 in literacy or equivalent.
- Due to the practical nature of the assessment, learners must be able to get to the floor unaided and demonstrate all required elements on their own, with the casualty at floor level (for example, performing effective CPR on an infant or child manikin at floor level).
Reasonable adjustments may be available for learners with a disability, medical condition, or learning need, in line with the FAA Reasonable Adjustment and Special Consideration Policy. Please contact us before booking if you have any concerns.
Assessment
The qualification is assessed entirely through practical demonstration, supported by set oral questions from the trainer/assessor. Assessment is ongoing throughout the course, with learners made aware of when they are being assessed and what they are required to demonstrate. There is no grading: learners either pass or are referred. To achieve the qualification, a learner must satisfactorily complete each assessment scenario.
Certification & Validity
Successful learners receive the FAA Level 3 Award in Emergency Paediatric First Aid (RQF) / Award in Emergency Paediatric First Aid at SCQF Level 6, valid for three years from the date of achievement. Annual refresher training is strongly recommended to keep skills current. To requalify at the end of the three-year period, learners complete the full six-hour course again.
Progression
Learners who achieve this qualification can progress on to the FAA Award in Paediatric First Aid (the full 12-hour paediatric course) and to other FAA first aid and related qualifications. TMS Insight’s wider Health & Safety portfolio also includes fire safety, manual handling, food safety, safeguarding, and first aid for mental health.