& 
QNUK Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid for Sport (RQF)
One day, for PE teachers, sports coaches and club staff. Emergency first aid taught around the pitch, the poolside and the sports hall, including concussion and the injuries sport actually produces.
About this course
The QNUK Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid for Sport is the one day qualification for people responsible for participants in a sporting setting. PE teachers, coaches, club first aiders, leisure centre staff and volunteers all sit on it.
Sport shifts the odds. Sudden cardiac arrest in a young athlete is rare but it happens, and it happens in front of people who are not expecting it. Head injuries and concussion come with their own protocols and their own consequences for getting the return to play decision wrong. Fractures, dislocations, sprains and strains turn up weekly rather than yearly.
So the course runs the standard emergency first aid material, CPR, the recovery position, choking, bleeding and shock, and then teaches it in the environment where you will use it: on the ground, with a crowd, with a coach and a parent both asking you questions.
Concussion recognition and the decision to remove a player from play get proper time, because that is the call coaches most often get wrong and most often regret.
- The role and responsibilities of a first aider in a sporting setting, and consent for a young participant
- Assessing an incident on a pitch, court, poolside or in a sports hall
- When to administer CPR, and demonstrating adult CPR on a manikin
- Sudden cardiac arrest in sport, and the role of an AED at a venue
- The recovery position, and monitoring a casualty pitchside
- Choking, external bleeding and shock
- Head injuries and concussion recognition, and removing a participant from play
- Sprains, strains, fractures and dislocations, and the practical business of a spinal precaution
- Recording an incident and communicating with parents, coaches and the club
How completing this course helps you
- QNUK Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid for Sport, valid for three years
- A first aid qualification recognised for sports coaching and PE settings
- Confidence with concussion recognition and the removal from play decision
- Cover for training sessions, fixtures and club events
Who should attend?
PE teachers and school sport staff, sports coaches and assistant coaches, club first aiders and volunteers, leisure and fitness centre staff, and anybody running training sessions, fixtures or sports events.
Entry requirements. None. You need to be physically able to carry out practical first aid on the floor, including CPR on a manikin, and to have enough English to follow the training and the written assessment.
Ready to take the next step?
Choose a delivery option, compare dates and book with confidence, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
Choosing the right one
Which first aid course does your workplace actually need?
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 do not name a course. They tell an employer to carry out a first aid needs assessment and then provide what that assessment says is adequate, which is why two businesses next door to each other can land on different answers.
The rough shape is this. Lower hazard workplaces usually land on Emergency First Aid at Work, one day. Higher hazard workplaces, larger headcounts and anywhere with specific risks usually land on First Aid at Work, three days. Early years settings have their own rules through the Department for Education. Outdoor and remote work adds distance from the ambulance, which changes the answer again.
If you are not sure where you sit, ring us with what your people actually do and we will talk it through. Sending somebody on the wrong course costs more than the phone call.
Do the needs assessment first
Hazards, headcount, shift patterns, lone workers and how far you are from help. The HSE guidance is the starting point and it is short.
Match the course to the answer
EFAW for lower hazard, FAW for higher hazard, plus any specific qualification your setting or your insurer requires.
Plan the three years
Certificates last three years and the HSE recommends an annual refresher in between. Diary it when you book, not when it expires.
Course content
What you will cover
The qualification is structured around the management of health and safety and the practical application of risk assessment.
The first aider in sport
- The role and responsibilities of a first aider in a sporting setting
- Minimising the risk of infection
- Consent, including for a young participant
- Assessing an incident pitchside or poolside
- Summoning appropriate assistance
- Recording and reporting, and talking to parents and coaches
Emergency first aid in sport
- When to administer CPR, and demonstrating adult CPR on a manikin
- Sudden cardiac arrest in sport and the role of an AED
- The recovery position and monitoring
- Choking, mild and severe
- External bleeding and shock
- Head injuries and concussion recognition
- Removal from play and the return to play decision
- Sprains, strains, fractures and dislocations
- Suspected spinal injury and spinal precautions
Method of assessment
How this qualification is assessed
Assessment runs through the course rather than being bolted on at the end. Your tutor observes the practical work as you go, and the written paper closes it off.
Practical observation
Observed through the day: primary survey, adult CPR on a manikin, the recovery position, choking, bleeding control and a concussion scenario. A good part of it is done on the floor rather than at a table.
Multiple choice examination
A written paper at the end of the day, covering the emergency first aid content and the sport specific material.
Certification
Issued by QNUK and valid for three years.
Ways to learn
How you can take this course
Every route covers the same accredited syllabus and the same support. Pick the one that fits how your people work.
Classroom
Tutor-led at one of our centres, with everything provided.
Ask us to open a classroom date →or ask MB nowDates and locations
Arrange this course
There are no scheduled dates for this course at the moment. It is normally arranged around you.
Tell us roughly when you need it and how many people are going, and we will come back with dates and a price.
Also available
In-company training
We run this one to order, at your place or ours.
Onsite / in-company
Run Emergency First Aid for Sport at your site
We deliver anywhere in the UK, on your dates and around your shift patterns. For six or more people it is usually cheaper per head than sending everyone to a centre, and nobody loses a day travelling.
Tell us roughly how many people and when, and we will come back with options and a price, or ask MB and get an answer straight away.
What onsite includes
- The same tutor, materials and certification as our centres
- Your venue or one we arrange near you
- Dates and start times built around your operation
- One invoice and one point of contact for the whole group
- Content examples drawn from your own workplace
Emergency First Aid for Sport FAQs
It is a regulated Ofqual qualification on the RQF, accreditation number 603/2899/X, and QNUK describe it as suited to PE teachers and sports coaches requiring an emergency first aid for sport qualification. Governing bodies each word their own requirement, so send us what yours says and we will confirm before you book.
Yes, and it is one of the reasons to choose it over a general workplace course. Recognising concussion, removing a participant from play, and understanding why the return to play decision is not the coach's to rush, all get proper time.
Yes. PE departments book it regularly, and it pairs well with a defibrillator course where the school has an AED. For early years settings the paediatric qualifications are the right route instead.
Yes, and it works better there. Practising on your own pitch or in your own sports hall, with your own first aid bag and your own AED location, produces decisions that transfer on a match day.
Three years. The HSE also recommends an annual refresher in between, which is a half day and keeps skills and confidence current rather than letting them fade for three years at a time.
Yes, anywhere in the UK. For six or more people it is normally cheaper per head than sending everybody to a centre, and nobody loses a day travelling. We work around your shift patterns.
At 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. Pick a date from the board on this page or call 0330 124 2165.
QNUK, an Ofqual regulated awarding organisation. This one is QNUK Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid for Sport (RQF), accreditation number 603/2899/X. We are an approved QNUK centre.
From the blog
Course guides and news
The latest plain-English guides to choosing the right course, card or qualification.
Training for a team?
One contact for all your workforce training
Book this course for a group at your site or ours, roll it into a managed training plan and let us handle the scheduling, certificates and renewals.