First Aid Training Courses

Start here

Nobody needs "a first aid course". They need the right one.

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1. Do the needs assessment

Hazards, headcount, shift patterns, lone workers, and how long an ambulance would actually take. The HSE guidance is short and it is the honest starting point.

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2. Pick the workplace award

Lower hazard usually lands on Emergency First Aid at Work, one day. Higher hazard, larger teams or remote sites usually land on First Aid at Work, three days.

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3. Add what your setting needs

Children, the outdoors, forestry, sport, a defibrillator on the wall or a known allergy each have their own qualification. They sit alongside the workplace award rather than replacing it.

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4. Plan the three years

Certificates run for three years. HSE guidance recommends an annual refresher in between. Put both in the diary the day you book, not the month it expires.

Workplace first aid

The core workplace qualifications

First Aid at Work (FAW)Three days. The full qualification for a designated workplace first aider, for higher risk sites and larger teams.Dates and cost Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)One day. The standard answer for lower hazard workplaces: offices, retail, hospitality and education.Dates and cost First Aid at Work RequalificationTwo days, to renew an in date FAW certificate for another three years. Book it before it expires, not after.Dates and cost First Aid Annual RefresherHalf a day. The top up HSE guidance recommends between three year certificates, for first aiders who have not practised since.Dates and cost Lone Working First AidFor people who work alone, where the first aider and the casualty are the same person and nobody is coming for a while.Dates and cost

Higher risk

Catastrophic bleeding, forestry and security

FAW with Catastrophic BleedingThree days. Full workplace first aid plus tourniquets, wound packing and haemostatic dressings.Dates and cost EFAW with Catastrophic BleedingOne day, with the bleed control kit taught properly. For sites with blades, machinery, glass or vehicles.Dates and cost First Aid at Work +F (Forestry)Three days, for higher risk activities on Forestry Commission land.Dates and cost EFAW +F (Forestry)One day. The first regulated qualification written for first aid on Forestry Commission land.Dates and cost EFAW (Security)One day, developed to support the SIA first aid requirement for security officers.Dates and cost

Children and the outdoors

Paediatric, outdoor, forest school and sport

Paediatric First AidTwo days. The qualification the Department for Education requires in early years settings.Dates and cost Emergency Paediatric First AidOne day, for staff supporting a fully qualified paediatric first aider.Dates and cost Outdoor First AidTwo days, for remote work where help may be up to two hours away.Dates and cost Emergency Outdoor First AidOne day, for activity centres within about thirty minutes of the emergency services.Dates and cost Forest School First AidTwo days. Workplace, outdoor and paediatric first aid in one qualification.Dates and cost Emergency First Aid for SportOne day, for PE teachers, coaches and club staff. Includes concussion recognition.Dates and cost

Half day specialisms

One risk, covered properly

Responding to Incidents with an AEDHalf a day. For sites with a defibrillator, so somebody will actually take it off the wall.Dates and cost Responding to Anaphylactic ReactionsHalf a day, where somebody on site has a diagnosed anaphylaxis risk and staff may need to use an auto injector.Dates and cost Supervising Mental Health First AidMental health first aid, for the people who supervise others. Awarded separately from the physical first aid range.Dates and cost

How many first aiders?

The HSE does not give you a number, and neither should anyone else

Every provider who tells you a flat ratio is guessing. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require an employer to assess their own first aid needs and provide what is adequate and appropriate, and the HSE publish guidance on how to do that rather than a table of numbers.

What that assessment weighs is fairly consistent: the hazards in the work, how many people are on site, whether anybody works alone or off site, shift patterns and holiday cover, how spread out the building is, and how long an ambulance would realistically take.

Lower hazard workplaces usually land on emergency first aiders rather than full first aiders
Higher hazard work, shift patterns and lone working push the number up
Train more than the minimum, or one holiday leaves you uncovered
Write the assessment down. It is the document that shows your provision was thought about

Live dates

Every first aid date we have on

Straight from our booking system. Filter it, or have the lot emailed to you as a printable sheet.

SearchCategoryOnly what is on the calendar 5

20 courses, 70 scheduled dates

Everything we run is on this page, whether or not a date is showing. Where a course is scheduled, open the availability column to see the dates, the centre, the price and how many places are left. Where nothing is scheduled it only means nobody has asked yet: tell us the course and the numbers and we will put a date on, here or at your place.

First aid training, answered

Which first aid course does my workplace need?

It comes out of a first aid needs assessment rather than a rule. Lower hazard workplaces usually land on the one day Emergency First Aid at Work. Higher hazard work, larger teams, shift patterns, lone working or distance from an ambulance usually point at the three day First Aid at Work. Ring us with what your people actually do and we will talk it through.

How many first aiders do we need?

There is no legal number. The HSE require you to assess your own needs and provide what is adequate, and their guidance sets out the factors to weigh: hazards, headcount, shift patterns, lone workers, site layout and distance from help. Most employers train above the bare minimum so that holidays and sickness do not leave them uncovered.

How long does a first aid certificate last?

Three years, across the whole range. HSE guidance also recommends an annual refresher in between, which is a half day and is a regulated qualification in its own right.

What is the difference between FAW and EFAW?

Length and scope. Emergency First Aid at Work is one day and covers the emergencies that will not wait. First Aid at Work is three days and adds the secondary survey, fractures and slings, head, spinal, chest and eye injuries, poisoning, anaphylaxis and major illness. FAW can be renewed in two days; EFAW is retaken in full.

Who awards your first aid qualifications?

QNUK, an Ofqual regulated awarding organisation. We are an approved QNUK centre. Every qualification on this page carries an Ofqual accreditation number, which is listed on the course page.

Do you deliver first aid training onsite?

Yes, anywhere in the UK, on your dates and around your shift patterns. For six or more people it is normally cheaper per head than sending everybody to a centre, and nobody loses a day travelling.

Where do you run first aid courses?

Our centres in Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Manchester and Liverpool, at your own premises nationwide, and through our partner network where a local option suits you better.

Can you help us work out what we need?

Yes, and it is the most useful phone call you will have on the subject. Tell us what the work involves, how many people, what the shifts look like and how far you are from a hospital, and we will tell you which course fits and how many people to put on it.

Not sure which first aid course you need?

Tell us what your people actually do and we will tell you what the needs assessment is likely to land on. It takes two minutes and it is cheaper than sending somebody on the wrong course.

Talk to our team Call 0330 124 2165