Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement in July 2022 that all schools in England should have defibrillators on their estates, how many schools in England now have defibrillators; and how many training programmes for their use they have supported.

On 17 July 2022, The department announced that it would be providing defibrillators to all state funded schools in England that did not already have them.

Deliveries to all eligible secondary schools have now been completed and, as of 27 June 2023, approximately 12,400 defibrillators have been delivered to over 9,965 eligible schools. All deliveries will be completed by the end of the academic year.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used safely with no prior training. The devices provided have voice prompts to talk the user through the steps they need to take at the time of use. Users are prompted to follow the step-by-step instructions displayed on the device.

As part of the roll out, awareness videos have been provided showing how simple defibrillators are to use. The department is asking schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies. This will ensure as many people as possible feel able to respond in an emergency situation.

To further support schools, the department has also updated its Automated External Defibrillator guidance, which includes practical information about defibrillators and links to additional support. The guidance is attached.