First Aid at Work Regulation Changes 2013

 

On 1st October 2013 the Health & Safety Executive ceased approval of Training Providers to deliver the First Aid at Work (FAW) and Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) courses. 

Until this date the HSE had set rules and standards for Training Providers who sought Approval to deliver these important, benchmark First Aid courses.

There are now four possible routes Training Providers can follow to allow them to deliver these qualifications.  The routes they choose are entirely their choice.  In the same way the Training Provider you use is entirely your choice.  So how do you choose?

 

How can Training Providers deliver the EFAW and FAW courses?

Membership of an Awarding Organisations

The vast majority of Training Providers will already subscribe to one of the Awarding Organisations (which must be recognised by Ofqual) to accredit their courses.  This route has an inherent Quality Assurance process built in; the Awarding Organisation sets standards for the Training Provider to operate at.

The Awarding Organisation will regularly visits the Training Provider to ensure these standards are being met and also to observe the quality of the teaching.

 

Membership of a First Aid Trade Body

Membership of a professional body alone (such as the Association of First Aiders or Federation of First Aid Training Organisations) does not have any Quality Assurance processes in place but the argument is that while Awarding Organisations have the expertise in education, Trade Bodies have the expertise in the subject matter.   Trade Bodies are often amongst the first to promote new standards and best practice and are, very often, quicker to respond to these changes than Awarding Organisations.

 

The Independent Training Provider

For the first time, it will be perfectly legal for ANYONE to deliver both the EFAW and FAW courses with no membership to an Awarding or Professional body as long as they are able to demonstrate their capabilities and competencies as demonstrated by the Due Diligence procedure.

 

Voluntary Ambulance Service

Red Cross, St John Ambulance and St Andrew's First Aid will continue to provide training under their own brands without addition external accreditation or membership to Trade Bodies.

 

Which is best?

The HSE - very importantly - do no recommend or promote one route to deliver.  The onus is on the customer to satisfy themselves that their training provider is capable, credible and appropriate.

The HSE do, however, provide guidance on how to do this.  HSE Document GEIS3 "Selecting a First Aid Training Provider" is available for download and explains the Due Diligence process.

 

Due Diligence

The process suggests you look for evidence in five areas:

  1. Trainers and Assessors - Do they have the minimum qualifications?

  2. Quality Assurance - Are the Quality Assurance mechanisms in place?  Do they have Course Evaluation or Complaints procedures?

  3. Best practice - Are they teaching current best practice from National Guidelines?

  4. Training Syllabus - Are they delivering the current, recognised syllabus?  Are the courses of appropriate duration?

  5. Certificates - Do they meet the minimum standard in terms of content?

 

Which route is best?

It is impossible to say which route is best:  The four routes have their own pros and cons to both the Training Provider and the Customer:

  • Membership of an Awarding Organisations appears the most credible form of delivery because of the external Quality Assurance procedure.  Your certificate will be recognised nationally.  Unfortunately no system is foolproof.

    In a difficult economy and saturated market, Training Providers who deliver accredited training can and will provide substandard training, employing under-qualified or inexperienced staff and ensure that everyone - regardless of ability - passes the courses in an attempt to maximise profit and promote their "100% pass rate".

    This happens.  That is not to say every Training Provider will do this.  It can happen because the External Assessor only needs to see a credible course being delivered with all standards met and paperwork in place one day a year and for that day the unscrupulous Training Provider will pull out all of the stops!

 

  • Membership of a Trade Body can also carry weight for employees, especially if is a recognised and respected Body.  It also indicates that the Training Provider has a professional interest in First Aid rather than simply profiteering from training.  It should demonstrate that members of the Body are up to date on the latest developments and best practice.  Possibly more so than members of Awarding Organisations.

    Unfortunately membership to a Trade Body alone is not proof of educational rigor.  

    At best, membership of an Awarding Organisation or trade Body reflects high academic and professional standards.  At worst they are used as 'membership clubs' where the Training provider pay their annual fees solely for the use of a logo on their website and certificates.

 

  • Training with one of the Voluntary Ambulance Services (VAS) also has significant benefits; because of their presence in society they are instantly recognisable.  A certificate from St John Ambulance will be recognized anywhere in the UK.  A certificate from the Red Cross will be recognised pretty much globally.  Because of their brand awareness in the public domain they are able to trade on their reputation.

    The VAS have a reputation of providing the most standardised training - in terms of content - across the country because all of their training is managed in-house.  They also have a reputation of being more traditional than some and less dynamic.  But they are big machines and it really does depend on the trainer you have on the day.

    The VAS are also some of the most expensive courses available.  Prices for the FAW course are around £405.00 (incl. VAT) in London and up to £330.00 (incl. VAT) outside of London.   Most commercial providers charge around £150-£200 for this three-day course.

    Is that reassurance for 50-100% than the vast majority of all other commercial training organisations?  Will you learn 50-100% more.  The idea of a standardised training course is that it is standardised across all training routes.

 

  • So what about the Independent Training Provider?  Surely he is the highest risk?  He has not demonstrated any quality assurance through membership or an Awarding Organisation nor has he displayed a professional interest from membership of a Trade Body and no one has heard of them, unlike the VAS.

    When the new regulations were announced there was serious concern that the removal of HSE approval would flood the market with cheap, substandard, unregulated Training Providers.   This is why the Due Diligence process exists.

    If the Independent Training Provider can meet the expectations of the Due Diligence and you have seen documented evidence - they are able to deliver as credible training as any other route.  And given that we know that Quality Assurance systems are abused, they may even deliver better training than a larger Training Providers.