Poll: Should first aid be made part of the national curriculum?
Children should be taught lifesaving skills at school, according to a poll.
It reveals that the vast majority of teachers (96%) think that youngsters should learn basic first aid in the classroom.
The survey, conducted by first aid charity St John Ambulance, found that more than two thirds (67%) of the teachers questioned said that their school does not provide pupils with first aid training, while just a fifth (21%) said that lessons in the subject were available for youngsters.
Of those that said no training was available, around a third (35%) suggested that this was due to lack of time, a similar proportion (33%) cited lack of staff training and 23% said it was unavailable for cost reasons.
The poll, which questioned 1,157 teachers in England, also found that more than half (57%) think that first aid would need to be part of the national curriculum in order for more schools to take the subject seriously, St John Ambulance said.
The charity said that too many lives are lost each year through a lack of first aiders and urged schools to take part in its first ever Big First Aid Lesson.
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