July’s HSE news bulletin urges employers to complete their due diligence checks to confirm their first aid providers are working to the correct standards. Employers must be able to demonstrate to local authority or HSE inspectors that their first aid provision meets with the correct standards.
The bulletin reminds first aid providers of their responsibility to teach to the correct learning hours for work based first aid courses. Reports have been made of trainers failing to deliver courses over the correct timescales, therefore compromising the competence of the learners. Worksafe courses follow the syllabuses as set by the HSE and comply fully with the recommendations for course timescales. Our student packs and lesson plans provide the correct syllabus and timescales:
‘First Aid at Work training (FAW) should be for 18 hours over a minimum period of 3 days and Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) 6 hours over a minimum of 1 day. FAW requalification training should be for 12 hours over a minimum of 2 days, and all of these recommended periods exclude breaks’ (HSE JULY 2019).
Class sizes are also highlighted with clear guidance on student/trainer ratios. Large class sizes compromise the effectiveness of the training and the trainer’s ability to appropriately assess each student as competent:
‘Class sizes for the training should be appropriate. For example, where first-aid training is provided in class sizes of greater than 12, unless additional trainers and/or assessors are provided there may be concerns over addressing the training needs of individual candidates or adequately assessing their competence.’ (HSE JULY 2019)
Worksafe Instructors are able to download our full Quality Policy from our secure portal. This document along with our Code of Practice for Assessments and General Rules & Regulations are also available electronically to send out to potential customers to assist with due diligence checks.
Class sizes and teaching hours are closely monitored by our administration teams and will continue to be so to ensure that all Worksafe instructors are compliant with the expected standards. Contact us for any further support regarding due diligence checks, we are here to help you offer the highest standard of training.
Click here to read the full bulletin.