First Aid Policy

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Aims

The aims of our first aid policy are to:

  • Ensure the health and safety of all staff, pupils and visitors
  • Ensure that staff and governors are aware of their responsibilities with regards to health and safety
  • Provide a framework for responding to an incident and recording and reporting the outcomes

Legislation and guidance

This policy is based on the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, advice from the Department for Education on first aid in schools and health and safety in schools, and the following legislation:

Roles and responsibilities

Appointed person(s) and first aiders

The Federation’s appointed person is Helen Rai

They are responsible for:

  • Taking charge when someone is injured or becomes ill
  • Ensuring there is an adequate supply of medical materials in first aid kits, and replenishing the contents of these kits
  • Ensuring that an ambulance or other professional medical help is summoned when appropriate or as directed by the health care plan

First aiders are trained and qualified to carry out the role (see section 7) and are responsible for:

  • Acting as first responders to any incidents; they will assess the situation where there is an injured or ill person, and provide immediate and appropriate treatment.
  • Sending pupils home to recover, where necessary
  • Filling in an accident report on the same day, or as soon as is reasonably practicable, after an incident on the Medical tracker.
  • Notify the head of school when their qualifications need updating.

The local authority and governing body

Ealing Council is responsible for health and safety matters in the school but delegates responsibility for the strategic management of such matters to the federation’s governing body.

The governing body delegates operational matters and day-to-day tasks to the Executive Headteacher and staff members.

The headteachers

The headteachers are responsible for the implementation of this policy, including:

  • Ensuring that an appropriate number of trained first aid personnel are always present in the school
  • Ensuring that first aiders have an appropriate qualification, keep training up to date and remain competent to perform their role
  • Ensuring all staff are aware of first aid procedures
  • Ensuring appropriate risk assessments are completed and appropriate measures are put in place
  • Undertaking, or ensuring that leaders undertake, risk assessments, as appropriate, and that appropriate measures are put in place
  • Ensuring that adequate space is available for catering to the medical needs of pupils
  • Reporting specified incidents to the HSE when necessary (see section 6)

Staff

Federation staff are responsible for:

  • Ensuring they follow first aid procedures
  • Ensuring they know who the first aiders in school are
  • Completing accident reports for all incidents they attend to where a first aider is not called
  • Informing the medical leads of any specific health conditions or first aid needs
  • Report all accidents, incidents, hazardous conditions, dangerous occurrences or near misses and any inadequacies in any safety procedures to the Head of Business or a member of the senior leadership team within 24 hours to ensure that statutory information can be sent to the Local Authority or HSE.

First aid procedures

In-school procedures

In the event of an accident resulting in injury:

  • The closest member of staff present will assess the seriousness of the injury and seek the assistance of a qualified first aider, if appropriate, who will provide the required first aid treatment
  • The first aider, if called, will assess the injury and decide if further assistance is needed from a colleague or the emergency services. They will remain on scene until help arrives
  • The first aider will also decide whether the injured person should be moved or placed in a recovery position
  • If the first aider judges that a pupil is too unwell to remain in school, parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child. Upon their arrival, the first aider will recommend next steps to the parents
  • If emergency services are called, a school administrator will contact parents immediately
  • The first aider will complete an accident report form on the same day or as soon as is reasonably practical after an incident resulting in an injury

Off-site procedures

When taking pupils off the school premises, staff will ensure they always have the following:

  • A mobile phone
  • A portable first-aid kit
    • A leaflet giving general advice on first aid
    • 6 individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings
    • 1 large sterile unmedicated dressing
    • 2 triangular bandages – individually wrapped and preferably sterile
    • Individually wrapped moist cleansing wipes
    • 2 pairs of disposable gloves
    • 2 disposable ice packs
    • 2 sick bags
  • Information about the specific medical needs of pupils (health care plans)
  • Parents’ contact details

When transporting pupils using a minibus or other large vehicle, the school will make sure the vehicle is equipped with a clearly marked first aid box containing, at minimum:

    • 10 antiseptic wipes, foil packed
    • 1 conforming disposable bandage (not less than 7.5cm wide)
    • 2 triangular bandages
    • 1 packet of 24 assorted adhesive dressings
    • 3 large sterile unmedicated ambulance dressings (not less than 15cm × 20 cm)
    • 2 sterile eye pads, with attachments
    • 12 assorted safety pins
    • 1 pair of rustproof blunt-ended scissors

Risk assessments will be completed by the class teacher, and checked by a member of core team prior to any educational visit that necessitates taking pupils off school premises.

There will always be at least one first aider with a current paediatric first aid certificate on school trips and visits, as required by the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

There will always be at least one first aider on school trips and visits for other school phases.

First aid equipment

A typical first aid kit in our schools will include the following:

  • A leaflet giving general advice on first aid
  • 20 individually wrapped sterile adhesive dressings (assorted sizes)
  • 2 sterile eye pads
  • 2 individually wrapped triangular bandages (preferably sterile)
  • 6 safety pins
  • 6 medium-sized individually wrapped sterile unmedicated wound dressings
  • 2 large sterile individually wrapped unmedicated wound dressings
  • 3 pairs of disposable gloves
  • Cold compresses
  • Burns dressings

Medication is not kept in the first aid kits but is kept in class medical backpacks.

  • All classrooms have medical bags containing basic first aid equipment together with any authorised children’s medication
First aid boxes are in the following locations:

Lady Margaret Primary School

Ground floor:

  • Medical room
  • Peppermint room
  • The school office
  • Staff room

First floor:

  • Upper hall
  • Science room
  • Library

Durdan’s Park Primary School

  • Welfare Room
  • Nursery
  • School Kitchen
  • IT Suite
  • PPA Room
  • New Nursery building

First floor:

  • Staff room

Record-keeping and reporting

Accident/Incident Record Book

  • An accident log will be completed by the first aider on the same day or as soon as possible after an incident resulting in an injury on Medical Tracker
  • The school uses an online system called “Medical Tracker” to record injuries
  • As much detail as possible should be supplied when reporting an accident
  • Records held on Medical Tracker will be retained by the school for a minimum of 3 years, in accordance with Regulation 25 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, and then securely disposed of

Reporting to the HSE

The Head of Business will keep a record of any accident which results in a reportable injury, disease, or dangerous occurrence as defined in the RIDDOR 2013 legislation (regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7).

An accident report appendix 2 will be completed by the first aider on the same day or as soon as possible after an incident resulting in a reportable injury.

The Head of Business will ensure that reportable injuries, diseases or dangerous occurrences are reported to Ealing Council via the online reporting system Alcumus Info Exchange as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within 48 hours of the incident.

Reportable injuries, diseases or dangerous occurrences include:

  • Death
  • Specified injuries, which are:
    • Fractures, other than to fingers, thumbs and toes
    • Amputations
    • Any injury likely to lead to permanent loss of sight or reduction in sight
    • Any crush injury to the head or torso causing damage to the brain or internal organs
    • Serious burns (including scalding)
    • Any scalping requiring hospital treatment
    • Any loss of consciousness caused by head injury or asphyxia
    • Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space which leads to hypothermia or heat-induced illness, or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours
  • Injuries where an employee is away from work or unable to perform their normal work duties for more than 7 consecutive days (not including the day of the incident)
  • Where an accident leads to someone being taken to hospital
  • Near-miss events that do not result in an injury but could have done. Examples of near-miss
    events relevant to schools include, but are not limited to:
    • The collapse or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment
    • The accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness
    • The accidental release or escape of any substance that may cause a serious injury or damage to health
    • An electrical short circuit or overload causing a fire or explosion

It is important that as much information is captured to help with the investigation by both the school and corporate health and safety. Requests for information from third parties (union, insurance, legal) about an accident/incident could be received quite sometime after the event, therefore it is essential the information submitted is clear and detailed.

Ealing Council will provide support regarding accident/incident reporting, recording and investigation, the school’s health and safety adviser contact details are as follows:

Raj Chowdhury, Schools health and safety adviser
Phone: 020 8825 7287 / 07568 130 165
Email: chowdhuryr@ealing.gov.uk

Notifying parents

The class teacher or member of staff covering the class will inform parents verbally of any minor injury sustained during the day.

The first aider or a school administrator, in consultation with a member of the senior leadership team, will inform parents by phone or face to face, on the same day, or as soon as reasonably practicable of any major accident or injury sustained by a pupil, and any first aid treatment given.

This includes head injuries, severe cuts or injuries requiring additional medical treatment.

6.4 Reporting to Ofsted and child protection agencies

The headteacher will notify Ofsted of any serious accident, illness or injury to, or death of, a pupil while in the school’s care. This will happen as soon as is reasonably practicable, and no later than 14 days after the incident.

The head of school will also notify Ealing Council of any serious accident or injury to, or the death of, a pupil while in the school’s care.

Training

All school staff can undertake first aid training if they want to.

All first aiders must have completed a training course and must hold a valid certificate of competence to show this. The school will keep a register of all trained first aiders, what training they have received and when this is valid until (see appendix 3).

The school will arrange for first aiders to retrain before their first aid certificates expire. In cases where a certificate expires, the school will arrange for staff to retake the full first aid course before being reinstated as a first aider.

At all times, at least 1 staff member will have a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate which meets the requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and is updated at least every 3 years.

Monitoring arrangements

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Head of Business.

At every review, the policy will be approved by the governing body.

Links with other policies

This first-aid policy is linked to the

  • Health and safety policy
  • Risk assessment policy
  • Policy on supporting pupils with medical conditions

Full Policy in Appendices

PDF FILE

Approved by:
Governing Body

Published Date:
16th September 2025

Last reviewed on:
September 2025

Next review due by:
September 2026

Part of Ealing Bridges Federation

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