How to review your first aid policy

What this policy needs to do

Statutory requirements

While your school must have a first aid policy, it doesn't have to be a standalone document and may be part of your school's health and safety policy.

There's no specific format that your school needs to follow for this policy.

Before your school leaders or elected health and safety lead writes this policy, they must carry out an assessment of first aid needs (also known as a risk assessment). The assessment: 

• Will be used to write your school's first aid policy
• Will be specific to your school's setting – it will consider factors such as your school's size, location and layout (read more below)
• Should happen at least annually, and particularly after any changes in circumstances, such as new premises or staff changes. Remember that it's not your job to complete the assessment, but to hold school leaders to account and ask questions so you can assure yourself that the assessment is suitable

Read more about the assessment of needs in the Department for Education's (DfE's) non-statutory first aid in schools guidance.

Your policy should be proportionate and relevant to your setting

It should: 

• Focus on the health and safety of all staff, pupils and visitors
• Cover first aid procedures both on the school site and when taking pupils off the school premises
• Provide a framework of what to do when an incident happens, and how to record and report it
• Identify the key people involved in the first aid process

The specifics of every school's policy will look different to fit its individual context. Here are some examples of what else the policy could include:

• Roles and responsibilities, including details of the appointed person and any first aiders
• Details of first aid equipment, what goes in the first aid kits and where they are kept
• First aid training for staff and how this is recorded
• Monitoring arrangements

3 questions to ask to challenge this policy

1. How did you use the assessment of needs to write this policy?

The answer to this could include:

• The key things identified in the assessment of needs, based on:
• The size of your school and whether it's on split sites and/or levels
• Your school's location and layout
• Any specific hazards or risks on site
• Any specific needs or disabilities of your pupils and staff
• The age range of your pupils
• The number of first aid personnel required
• Whether there are any considerations specific to your school that needed to be thought about
• The provisions that have been put in place following the assessment of needs

2. How do you know your accident reporting systems are effective?

Leaders could show:

• How data is monitored to identify any trends
• That most staff know how to use the systems – by, for example, looking at the breadth of staff on reports
• Where relevant incidents have been reported to the Health and Safety Executive (see what incidents count in this HSE guidance)

For evidence, you could ask:

• To see anonymised records and accident reports
• Staff what they would do if there were a first aid incident 

3. How do you know that staff know what to do if an incident occurs?

Your school leader could:

• Explain how they check whether staff have read and understood the policy
• Talk through the procedures for recording when staff have read a policy
• Explain how the first aid policy fits into staff training and induction
• Show evidence of the policy being put into place effectively – for example, effective record keeping and placement of first aid kits 

Further questions

See more on general questions to ask when reviewing any policy.

Download our model policy and checklist

They are not meant as a guide for writing your school's policy, as that work will be done by your school's senior leaders. Use our model policy and checklist to give you an idea of what a good policy should look like.

Our model policy is from our sister service, The Key Leaders, and:

• Has been approved by Forbes Solicitors
• Is designed for your senior leaders to adapt to suit your school or trust's context

Schools 

Download: first aid model policy for schools

Academy trusts

Download: first aid model policy for trusts

Checklist

It's designed to show you in more depth what might be included in a policy, based on the DfE's first aid guidance. 

Maintained schools

Download: first aid policy checklist for maintained schools

Academies

Download: first aid policy checklist for academies

Examples from schools

Primary (academy):

• John Donne Primary School, Southwark
• Kensington Primary School, Newham

Primary (maintained):

• Worlingworth CEVC Primary School, Suffolk
• Sherwood Primary School, Lancashire

Secondary

• Aylsham High School, Norfolk (maintained)
• Rushey Mead Academy, Leicester (academy)

Special schools

• Acorn Park, Norfolk
• Heart of the Forest Community Special School, Gloucestershire