First Aid Champions is a free, curriculum-linked digital teaching toolkit developed by the British Red Cross that enables secondary school teachers and youth educators across the UK to deliver structured first aid education to young people aged 11–18, without requiring any prior first aid training or equipment.
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First Aid Champions
General Information
ISIG
A free, curriculum-linked first aid teaching toolkit that enables any secondary school teacher across the UK to deliver first aid education to students.
Developed by the British Red Cross, the toolkit gives educators everything they need to teach first aid confidently — no prior first aid training or specialist equipment required. It covers up to 17 first aid skills alongside three complementary modules on helping others, safety and wellbeing, and sharing and remembering. Content is delivered through films, interactive activities, worksheets, PowerPoints, role plays, quizzes, and learner skill guides, all freely accessible on the toolkit's dedicated website. The resource follows a three-step pedagogical model (Learn → Practise → Share) and is sequenced across secondary year groups from ages 11 to 16. It is fully mapped to the national curricula of all four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), is available in English and Welsh, and includes a teacher tracking tool (My Groups) as well as free CPD support for educators.
The toolkit's core function is capacity building: it equips teachers with a ready-to-use, structured teaching resource that removes all practical barriers to first aid education in secondary schools. It provides both the pedagogical framework and the specific lesson content needed for educators to deliver first aid learning with confidence, and offers guidance and sequencing tools to embed the programme across the school year.
Young people are frequently present at medical emergencies but often lack the confidence or skills to act. Research and practice in first aid education consistently show that bystander inaction — the "bystander effect" — is a significant barrier to survival in cardiac arrest and other life-threatening situations. In the UK, first aid is not uniformly taught in schools, and many teachers feel unqualified to deliver it without specialist training.
First Aid Champions was developed by the British Red Cross to address this gap at scale. The secondary toolkit builds on a primary-level version of the resource, deepening skills progressively across year groups and introducing more complex content such as AED use, the bystander effect, severe allergic reactions, stroke, poisoning, and mental health/wellbeing coping skills. It was deliberately designed to remove the barriers that prevent schools from embedding first aid: no training requirement for teachers, no specialist equipment, no cost, and direct links to national curriculum frameworks across all four UK nations.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
The toolkit addresses a set of concrete, well-evidenced gaps in public health emergency preparedness at community level:
Bystander inaction in medical emergencies. The majority of cardiac arrests, severe bleeds, choking incidents, and other life-threatening situations occur outside clinical settings, often in homes, schools, or public spaces where untrained bystanders are the first, and sometimes only people present. Research consistently shows that early bystander action, particularly CPR and AED use, dramatically improves survival rates, yet most people do not act due to lack of knowledge, confidence, or awareness of what to do.
Absence of structured first aid education in schools. Many secondary school students complete their education without any formal instruction in first aid. Where it does occur, delivery is often inconsistent, dependent on individual teacher initiative, and not embedded within curriculum frameworks.
Teacher confidence barriers. Even where schools wish to teach first aid, teachers frequently do not do so because they believe they require specialist training or equipment — a misconception the toolkit directly addresses by design.
Uneven reach of first aid knowledge across the population. Young people from different backgrounds, schools, and regions have very unequal access to first aid learning. A free, curriculum-embedded digital toolkit reduces this inequality by reaching all secondary school students whose educators use the resource, regardless of school budget or geography.
The primary target group is young people aged 11–18 in secondary education — a group that is often overlooked as both recipients and future providers of first aid. The toolkit also recognises that some students may have particular vulnerabilities during first aid learning (for example, students who have experienced trauma related to illness, injury, or bereavement). The guidance and support materials include a dedicated resource on creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment, and teachers are advised to use it when introducing sensitive content.
Implemented within the UK's decentralised education system, where curriculum authority and school-level decision-making sit with devolved national governments and individual schools rather than with a single central body. Each of the four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) operates its own curriculum framework, and the toolkit supports this by providing four separate nation-specific curriculum mapping documents. Adoption is voluntary and school-led: individual teachers or school leadership teams decide to use the resource, embed it within their own timetable, and determine how to sequence it across year groups. The British Red Cross provides the toolkit, CPD, and guidance, but holds no authority over schools and does not mandate delivery.
The case contributes to an organised preparedness approach: it is systematically curriculum-linked, delivered progressively across year groups with defined learning objectives, and supported by structured teacher guidance, evaluation tools (My Groups), and free CPD. It goes beyond basic awareness by equipping young people with practised, step-by-step response skills for a wide range of medical emergencies.
The toolkit requires only basic digital infrastructure: internet access and a device capable of accessing the toolkit website (computer, tablet, or interactive whiteboard). No specialist software, dedicated platforms, or first aid equipment are needed. This makes it implementable in most UK secondary school settings, including those with limited resources. Where schools have more developed infrastructure (reliable broadband, classroom display technology, learning management systems), the toolkit can be used more comprehensively, but it is intentionally low-barrier by design.
To build practical first aid knowledge, develop the confidence to act in emergencies, normalise helping behaviour, and create a multiplier effect by encouraging young people to share learning with others.
Student-facing website activities; films and case studies featuring relatable characters in realistic scenarios; think-pair-share discussions; worksheets and role play; practical skill rehearsal (including improvised first aid using everyday items); quizzes; certificate of participation; sharing activities with family and community.
The toolkit is explicitly designed to build lasting skills and confidence, not one-off awareness. Progressive sequencing across year groups means knowledge is reinforced and deepened over time. The Share and Remember module is structured around helping young people retain and apply what they have learned beyond the classroom. At a population level, systematic first aid education in schools is a recognised mechanism for building community resilience: a generation of young people trained in CPR, AED use, and emergency response reduces dependence on professional first responders alone.
Decision-making on curriculum design and content sits with the British Red Cross and national curriculum bodies. However, the toolkit's flexible design gives teachers significant discretion over how, when, and in what order they use the content, and encourages them to structure sessions based on the needs of their class and school context. Students influence their own learning trajectory through self-paced activities and are given genuine agency through the Share module. The My Groups tool gives educators real-time feedback on student confidence and progress, which can in turn inform teaching decisions.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
- Radical accessibility for teachers: it is the first British Red Cross first aid education resource designed so that no prior first aid training or experience is needed to deliver it. This is achieved through the "Everyday First Aid Approach" — a method developed by the British Red Cross that distils first aid actions into simple, memorable steps using everyday items, removing the psychological and logistical barriers that prevent educators from teaching it.
- Learn → Practise → Share pedagogical model which moves students beyond passive knowledge acquisition toward confidence-building and active knowledge transfer. The Share module is distinctive: students are explicitly prompted to teach what they have learned to family members, peers, or community members, creating a multiplier effect beyond the classroom.
- Curriculum integration architecture: the toolkit provides separate curriculum mapping documents for all four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), with learning objectives aligned to specific subject frameworks (PSHE, Health and Wellbeing, citizenship, etc.). This allows schools to position first aid teaching within existing timetable structures rather than treating it as an add-on.
- My Groups tracking feature allows teachers to monitor individual student progress through quiz results and self-reported confidence levels without registering personal data — a practical and privacy-conscious evaluation mechanism.
English and Welsh: the full toolkit is available in both languages via the website. Curriculum mapping documents are provided for all four UK nations.
The toolkit was developed and is maintained by the British Red Cross through its Youth Education and First Aid Education teams. It can be implemented in other contexts by organisations including: secondary schools and their teaching staff; youth group leaders and educators; national or regional education authorities adopting it as a recommended resource; and Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies or similar humanitarian organisations wishing to adapt the model for their own national education systems.
The British Red Cross is one of the world's leading humanitarian organisations and a National Society of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It has extensive institutional experience in first aid training, public emergency preparedness, and community resilience programming across the UK and internationally. The organisation acts as an auxiliary to UK public authorities in humanitarian response. First Aid Champions represents the formalisation of this expertise into a scalable school-based education model, built on peer-reviewed first aid guidance and refined through direct educator feedback.
- The British Red Cross as developer, content owner, and CPD provider;
- Secondary school teachers and youth educators as primary implementers;
- Secondary school students aged 11–18 as direct beneficiaries and active knowledge-sharers;
- School leadership teams responsible for embedding the resource within the school curriculum;
- National curriculum bodies in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland whose frameworks the toolkit is mapped to;
- Parents and community members reached indirectly through students' sharing activities.
- Teachers and educators access the free toolkit via the dedicated website and download the teacher and educator guidance document. They review the curriculum links for their nation to identify how the resource maps to their teaching obligations.
- Using the suggested sequencing guide, educators plan delivery across relevant year groups, allocating approximately 1–2 hours of teaching activities per year group. Each module is delivered using the Learn → Practise → Share structure: educators introduce content using the website's student-facing pages, films, and learner skill guides; run practical activities using the downloadable PowerPoints, worksheets, and role play materials; and conclude with sharing activities that encourage students to extend their learning beyond the classroom.
- Teachers who wish to develop their own confidence can complete the free British Red Cross CPD offer (eLearning course, Masterclass, or face-to-face session). Progress can be tracked using the My Groups tool; students can receive a certificate of participation at the end of the programme.
The toolkit is free to access and requires no specialist equipment. Educators need internet-connected devices (computer, tablet, or interactive whiteboard) to access the website content, and standard classroom resources (printer for optional worksheets, projector for PowerPoints).
No first aid kit is required. Manikins are recommended only if students wish to practise chest compressions physically, and guidance on sourcing them is available via the FAQ section.
Teacher time for preparation, delivery, and optional CPD is the primary resource commitment.
The toolkit is designed for delivery across the full secondary school career (ages 11–16), with a suggested sequencing guide that maps specific first aid skills, helping others activities, and safety and wellbeing content to each year group. Each year group's content represents approximately 1–2 hours of teaching time, allowing schools to embed first aid within existing timetables without significant disruption. The toolkit can also be revisited across year groups to reinforce learning. There is no fixed end-point: the resource is open-ended and can be updated and re-used as long as the toolkit remains available.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
- Removing the training barrier is the single most effective design decision for scaling first aid education in schools. Positioning the resource as teacher-proof (no training needed, no kit needed, no cost) dramatically broadens the pool of educators who are willing to try it.
- Progressive, curriculum-embedded sequencing works better than standalone workshops. Delivering first aid learning across multiple year groups, with each year building on the last, improves knowledge retention and ensures all students receive a minimum level of exposure regardless of which year they first encounter the resource.
- Making students active knowledge sharers creates a multiplier effect that extends the reach of the toolkit beyond the classroom. This is particularly valuable in the context of community resilience: young people who teach a parent or grandparent to call 999 correctly, or who demonstrate how to place someone in the recovery position, carry the impact of the programme into their households.
Teacher confidence: Many secondary school educators believe they need specialist first aid training before they can teach it, which creates a self-limiting barrier to adoption. The toolkit's central design response to this is to make the resource entirely self-sufficient: teachers do not need prior knowledge, and every session provides the content, guidance, and supporting materials needed. The availability of free CPD (eLearning, Masterclass, face-to-face) further reduces this barrier for educators who want additional support.
Emotional safety of learners. First aid content touches on illness, injury, death, and emergency situations that some young people may find distressing, particularly if they have personal experience of such events. The toolkit includes a dedicated guidance document — "Creating a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment" — which teachers are encouraged to use before introducing sensitive content. This provides both a discussion framework and a PowerPoint resource to help establish appropriate ground rules and emotional safety in the classroom.
Embedding first aid within a crowded curriculum: The curriculum mapping documents for all four UK nations are the primary adaptive response - by showing teachers exactly how first aid activities fulfil existing curriculum requirements (PSHE, Health and Wellbeing, etc.), the toolkit avoids the perception that it is an additional burden and instead positions it as meeting obligations that already exist.
Ensuring equitable reach across schools with varying resources, leadership priorities, and digital access is a longer-term challenge for which the primary mitigation is the toolkit's zero-cost, low-infrastructure design.
Low uptake or inconsistent delivery across schools is a real risk for any voluntary, non-mandated resource. Mitigation: curriculum alignment (making adoption rational within existing teaching obligations), free CPD (reducing the confidence barrier), and an open-access format (removing cost as a barrier).
Digital access and device availability vary between schools and students. Mitigation: to need only a standard internet connection, and all content can be printed or downloaded, providing a partial offline fallback. For students without home internet access, activities designed as homework can be adapted for classroom delivery.
Content becoming outdated is a credibility risk for any health education toolkit — first aid guidance evolves. Mitigation: maintain the toolkit and update it in line with current evidence-based guidance, including changes to CPR protocols, AED guidance, and other clinical standards.
Student distress during sessions. Mitigation: teachers to be mindful of this risk, particularly for students who have experienced trauma related to illness or loss, creating a safe learning environment.
Over-reliance on a single educator within a school (key person dependency) can limit sustainability. Mitigation: whole-staff CPD uptake and formal embedding of the toolkit within the school's curriculum planning rather than leaving it to individual teacher initiative.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The toolkit operates on a free public service model maintained by the British Red Cross as part of its core charitable mission in first aid education. There is no subscription, licensing fee, or usage charge for schools. Sustainability is underpinned by the British Red Cross's institutional continuity and its role as the UK's lead voluntary aid organisation and the recognised national authority on first aid. Content is regularly updated to reflect current clinical guidance, and free CPD ensures a pipeline of confident, capable educators. The curriculum alignment strategy embeds the toolkit within school planning cycles and curriculum frameworks, which reinforces institutional adoption beyond individual teacher initiative and makes it more likely to persist across staff changes.
The toolkit scales efficiently within the UK because it is digital, free, and requires no marginal cost increase as additional schools or educators adopt it. The four nation-specific curriculum mapping documents ensure it is contextually relevant across all parts of the UK, including Wales where all materials are available in Welsh. Schools can adopt the full suggested sequence or use individual modules as standalone resources — this modular flexibility increases uptake by allowing partial adoption as an entry point.
Adaptability beyond the UK is high, but requires meaningful localisation. The core pedagogical architecture — Learn, Practise, Share; age-progressive sequencing; curriculum integration; free digital delivery — is transferable to other national contexts. Effective adaptation would require: mapping content to the relevant national curriculum framework; translating materials into local languages; reviewing first aid skill content against national clinical guidance and protocols; ensuring cultural appropriateness of scenarios and characters; and establishing a sustainable maintenance model (either within a National Red Cross/Red Crescent Society or equivalent body, or through a government education authority).
The toolkit is built on a purpose-designed, publicly accessible website with student-facing interactive content, teacher-facing downloadable resources, and an educator tracking tool that enables anonymous monitoring of student progress.
Innovation is primarily pedagogical — the Learn → Practise → Share model, the Everyday First Aid Approach using improvised everyday materials, and the explicit social psychology module on bystander behaviour — rather than relying on advanced technology.
The platform is accessible on standard devices and does not require specialist software, which ensures broad usability across schools with varying technical resources.
For adopting schools: The toolkit is free to access and requires no specialist equipment or software. The only material costs are optional printing of worksheets and, if desired, the purchase of manikins for chest compression practice. A suggested source for manikins is available in the FAQ section of the website.
No public information was found on the development costs for the toolkit (staff time, web development, content production, film production). These costs are absorbed within the British Red Cross's charitable operations and funded budget, and are not itemised publicly.
For adopting schools: Ongoing operational costs are primarily teacher time — for lesson preparation, delivery (1–2 hours per year group per academic year), optional CPD, and engagement with the tracking tool.
For the British Red Cross: Operational costs include platform hosting and maintenance, content updates to reflect evolving first aid guidance, CPD delivery (eLearning infrastructure, Masterclass facilitation, and face-to-face sessions), and ongoing educator communications. These costs are not publicly itemised but are institutionally sustained within the British Red Cross's youth education budget.
- Free, openly accessible resources have a sustainability advantage over subscription or licensing models for education contexts: there is no renewal decision point at which a school may choose to disengage for budget reasons. The decision to make the toolkit entirely free, with no registration required to access content, removes the most common institutional barriers to sustained adoption.
- Curriculum alignment is the primary mechanism for long-term sustainability within schools: when first aid learning is embedded in curriculum plans as a vehicle for delivering PSHE, Health and Wellbeing, or citizenship outcomes, it is far more likely to survive staff turnover, timetable changes, or leadership transitions.
- The tracking tool and certificate of participation provide light-touch but meaningful accountability mechanisms that give schools a reason to complete the programme fully, and give the British Red Cross aggregate evidence of reach and impact.