Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase defibrillator training in schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Defibrillators are designed to be simple and safe to use with no prior training. The devices talk users through step-by-step instructions at the time of use.

​As part of the department’s defibrillator programme, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies. By providing defibrillators and raising awareness, this programme will help to produce a generation of young people who feel able and confident to use this life saving equipment.

The department’s defibrillator guidance signposts to free resources and additional support which schools may find helpful. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.

All state-funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the mandatory relationships, sex and health education curriculum. This involves children aged over 12 being taught CPR and the use of a defibrillator. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.