Who am I David Arnold • Chairman of the Association of First Aiders • Director of AoFA Qualifications • Responsible Officer AoFA Qualifications
What’s this about? • Association of First Aiders • AoFA an Ofqual recognised Awarding Organisation • What is a Regulated Qualification? • What is a Training Centre • First Aid as a qualification • Selecting a Training Provider
What is a Regulated Qualification? • Regulated by Ofqual /SQA • On a framework NVQ, QCF or FRQ • Designed / Shared by an a Awarding Organisation (AO) • Designed to be robust and fit for purpose • Awarded only by an Ofqual Recognised AO • Delivered only by Centres approved by a AO • Qualification are reviewed throughout lifetime.
What’s so good about an Approved Centre Ofqual
Documented Procedures and Policies Qualified Trainers
First Aid Health & Safety Security Safeguarding Food Safety Health & Social Care Education & Training
• Always looking for new Centres • Always looking for Advisors and Qualification writers
www.AoFAQualification.org
Regulated First Aid Qualifications • Level 2 Emergency First Aid at Work – 1 day • Level 3 First Aid at Work – 3 days • Level 3 Emergency Paediatrics First Aid – 1 day • Level 3 Paediatrics First Aid – 2 day + others
LEVELS ?
Requirement for First Aid The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 Require the employer to provide adequate and appropriate first-aid equipment, facilities and people so employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work.
Employers legal duties “…. to comply with your (employer) legal duties under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 that (selecting a training provider) choice must be appropriate and adequate, based on a needs assessment and appropriate due diligence (reasonable investigation) being conducted. The amount of effort you (employer) need to put into due diligence will vary for each option.”
The Employer can select a training provider who: 1. offers regulated qualifications; or 2. operate under voluntary accreditation schemes (including trade/industry bodies); or 3. operate independently of any such accreditation scheme. 4. First-aid training is also available from the Voluntary Aid Societies
Note: 2 & 3 are effectively the same wrt due diligence
What due diligence should the Employer undertake ?
VE • Training qualifica-ons I F E • Assessor qualifica-ons HS • Verifying qualifica-ons
s i l k c e h C e g Pa
• Qualifica(ons of trainers and assessors. • Monitoring and quality assurance systems. • Teaching to current standards of first-‐aid prac(ce. • Syllabus content. • Cer(fica(on.
t
Note: It is the Employers’ responsibility to carry out due diligence
EMPLOYER
But wait… Not all training providers are created equal
Not all training providers are created equal!
Employers responsibility to carry out due diligence on Training Provider #
Training Provider Type
Due Diligence
1
Voluntary accreditation scheme including trade/industry bodies
ALL
2
Independent of any such accreditation scheme.
ALL
3
VAS
4
Regulated by an Ofqual recognised Awarding Organisation (i.e. AoFAQ)
Optional Wait for it…
Nothing Nought Zilch Not a thing
That’s right NO due diligence for the Employer to carry out
Or more reservedly quoting the HSE document. “11 Regulated qualifications are delivered by training centres recognised by a regulated ‘awarding organisation’ (AO). These AOs are regulated by the qualification regulators (Ofqual, SQA or the Welsh Government)against standards for the design, delivery and award of qualifications. As part of the regulated standards, AOs must have dedicated quality assurance processes to approve and monitor their recognised training centres….”
Relating to the Employer
“Due to awarding organisations offering ‘regulated qualifications’, you do not have to use the checklist to satisfy yourself of the competency of that organisation. “
Tell your Customer “By selecting an AoFA Qualifications approved training provider, the employer can be confident that the qualification is regulated and recognised by the HSE. Non-regulated or non VAS qualifications may not be HSE compliant resulting in the employer failing to fulfil their statutory duties. See HSE document GEIS3 for details.”
Would an Employer consider a fiver expensive if they truly understood their responsibility and was fully aware of the risks taken in selecting a non regulated training provider
?
What about Early Years Foundation Stage Paediatric First Aid?
It’s the same… “Providers can choose which organisation they wish to provide the training (preferably one with a nationally approved and accredited first aid qualification or one that is a member of a trade body with an approval and monitoring scheme) but the training must cover the course content as for St John Ambulance or Red Cross paediatric first aid training and be renewed every three years.”
Or not quite so good, but wait…
footnote “On page 21, footnote 18 says that first aid training “must cover the course content as for St John Ambulance or Red Cross paediatric first aid training and be renewed every three years”. Whilst the training undertaken may cover first aid for adults as well as children, first aid for adults is not an EYFS requirement. The footnote does not mean that early years providers must choose St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross to provide such training; providers are free to choose either of these organisations or another training provider. The Register of Regulated Qualifications may help providers to identify paediatric first aid providers and can be found at: http://register.ofqual.gov.uk/qualification. It may also be helpful to refer to the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance about choosing a first aid training provider which can be found at: www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/approved-training.htm
