Emergency Paediatric First Aid

Emergency Paediatric First Aid

---

Emergency paediatric first aid training delivered at your setting. One full day. Meets the 6-hour emergency PFA requirement under Annex A of the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025). Face-to-face only, as required by the framework.

---

QUALIFICATION: Emergency Paediatric First Aid
DURATION: Full day	DELIVERY: Face-to-face only	GROUP SIZE: Max 12 learners
CERTIFICATE: Accredited Emergency Paediatric First Aid	VALIDITY: 3 years	AWARDING BODIES: Worksafe / FAIB / Highfield
Meets EYFS Statutory Framework Annex A (effective 1 September 2025) and Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981. CPR content reflects the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines

Course Overview

When a child stops breathing, the adults in the room are the first responders. Not a paramedic. Not the school nurse. The teaching assistant, the nursery worker, and the childminder who has been with that child every day for the past year. What they know in that moment, and whether they’re confident enough to act on it, is what matters.

Emergency Paediatric First Aid Training gives anyone responsible for the care of infants and children the practical skills and genuine confidence to respond effectively when a paediatric emergency happens. In one focused, practical day, it covers the situations most likely to arise in childcare and early years settings: the unresponsive baby, the choking toddler, the child who goes into shock, the seizure that no one was expecting.

This is a full-day, face-to-face course. The EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025) is clear that emergency paediatric first aid training must be delivered face-to-face and last a minimum of six hours excluding breaks. This course meets that standard exactly, and all CPR content reflects the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Paediatric Life Support Guidelines, published October 2025.

Important:   This course meets the emergency paediatric first aid requirement under Annex A of the EYFS Statutory Framework 2025. It doesn’t replace the full 12-hour Paediatric First Aid qualification required for the designated first aider who must be on the premises at all times when children are present. If your setting needs a member of staff to fulfil that statutory role, you need our Paediatric First Aid (2-Day) course, also available via our Paediatric First Aid Blended route.

If you’re unsure which applies to your setting, get in touch, and we’ll tell you honestly before you book anything.

Course Details

• Duration: Full day (minimum 6 hours, as required by EYFS Annex A)
• Delivery: Face-to-face only, at your setting or chosen venue
• Certificate: Accredited Emergency Paediatric First Aid certificate
• Awarding organisations: Worksafe, FAIB, Highfield
• Validity: 3 years
• Group size: Maximum 12 learners per trainer

Who This Course Is For

This course is right for anyone working with or responsible for infants and children.

• Early years practitioners and nursery staff in group-based settings
• Childminders and nannies
• Teaching assistants and school support staff working with young children
• Foster carers and family support workers
• After-school and holiday club staff
• Anyone seeking a recognised emergency paediatric first aid qualification for confidence in a childcare role

No prior first aid experience is needed. If you are a level 2 or level 3 qualified practitioner who started work in an early years setting on or after 30 June 2016, the EYFS Statutory Framework requires you to obtain a paediatric first aid qualification within three months of starting in order to be included in the required staff-to-child ratios. If the full 12-hour qualification is what you need for that purpose, see our Paediatric First Aid (2-Day) course.

Not sure which applies to your setting? Get in touch, and we’ll help you work it out before you commit.

The Legal Requirement

The EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025) places clear statutory obligations on early years providers in relation to paediatric first aid. Having one qualified first aider is a minimum, not an ideal. Paragraph 3.37 requires providers to take into account the number of children, staff, and layout of premises to ensure a paediatric first aider can respond to emergencies quickly. In a larger setting, across multiple rooms, or during an outing, one first aider may not be enough.

Paragraph 3.63 requires that whilst children are eating, a member of staff with a valid PFA certificate consistent with Annex A criteria must always be in the room. Choking in young children can be completely silent. This requirement isn’t administrative. It reflects a genuine clinical risk.

Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, all employers, including early years providers, must make adequate and appropriate first aid provision. A workforce where more people are trained in emergency paediatric first aid is a safer setting.

Benedict’s Law: What It Means for Your Setting

Introduced through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Royal Assent 20 June 2026), Benedict’s Law requires settings to stock spare adrenaline auto-injectors, provide allergy awareness training for all staff, and maintain a policy for supporting children with medical conditions from September 2026. These are statutory requirements, not guidance. Updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions is expected from September 2026, and this page will be reviewed at that point.

Benedict’s Law allergy awareness training is available as an additional module on request. Read more: Benedict’s Law: What Schools and Early Years Settings Need to Know.

EYFS Compliance: What You Actually Need to Know

The EYFS compliance picture around paediatric first aid is one of the most frequently misunderstood areas in early years provision. Here is what the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025) actually requires:

• The statutory minimum (Paragraph 3.36): At least one person with a current full PFA certificate must be on the premises and available at all times when children are present. That person must hold the full 12-hour qualification. The 6-hour emergency course does not meet this specific requirement.
• The eating requirement (Paragraph 3.63): Whilst children are eating, a member of staff with a valid PFA certificate consistent with Annex A criteria must always be in the room. Choking in young children can be completely silent. This requirement is not administrative. It reflects a genuine clinical risk.
• Staff in ratios: All staff who obtained a level 2 or level 3 qualification since 30 June 2016 must obtain a PFA qualification within three months of starting work to be included in the required staff-to-child ratios.
• This course meets the Annex A emergency PFA criteria (6-hour course). It prepares additional staff for emergency response and supports the eating requirement. It does not replace the full 12-hour qualification for the designated first aider.

If you are not sure what your setting needs, we will tell you honestly before you book. For the full 12-hour qualification, see our Paediatric First Aid (2-Day) course.

What the Day Covers

All content reflects the Annex A emergency PFA criteria from the EYFS Statutory Framework 2025 and the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines throughout. Topics covered include:

• The role and responsibilities of a paediatric first aider in an early years setting
• Assessing an emergency situation involving an infant or child, including using the BBB recognition tool (Behaviour, Breathing, Body colour) to spot a deteriorating child before cardiac arrest happens
• Managing an unresponsive baby or child: airway, breathing, and recovery position
• Paediatric CPR under the current 2025 standard: five initial rescue breaths before compressions, a 15:2 compression-to-breath ratio for trained rescuers, and correct technique for each of the current age bands (infant: birth to 1 year, child: 1 to 12 years, adolescent: 13 to 18 years)
• Choking in infants and children: recognition, back blows, and age-appropriate response
• Seizures in babies and children: immediate management and when to call 999
• Bleeding and shock: controlling severe bleeding and responding to hypovolaemic shock
• Incident recording and escalation: what to document, when to call emergency services, and how to inform parents

All content is delivered face-to-face with hands-on practice on infant and child manikins, as required by Annex A of the EYFS Statutory Framework.

How the Course Is Delivered

This course is delivered face-to-face only, as required by Annex A of the EYFS Statutory Framework 2025. Online delivery does not meet the statutory requirement. Sessions are practical, calm, and built around the real situations learners face in early years and childcare settings.

Groups are capped at 12 to ensure every learner gets sufficient hands-on practice time. Every session is built around your setting, the ages of children you work with, your policies, and your escalation procedures. If you haven’t reviewed your paediatric first aid arrangements recently, we can discuss what that might involve during the enquiry process.

Delivery includes:

• Hands-on CPR practice on infant and child manikins with direct trainer feedback
• Practical choking response practice for both infants and children
• Scenario-based learning drawn from real early years and childcare environments
• Individual assessment of practical competencies throughout the day

Emergency Paediatric First Aid or Paediatric First Aid (2-Day)?

This is the question early years providers ask most often, and the answer matters.

Emergency Paediatric First Aid (this course): Meets the 6-hour Annex A criteria. Right for additional staff training, the eating supervision requirement, and building a broader first aid-ready workforce. Does not meet the statutory requirement for the designated first aider.

Paediatric First Aid (2-Day): Meets the full Annex A 12-hour criteria. Required for the designated first aider, who must be on the premises at all times when children are present. Required for level 2 and level 3 practitioners to be included in ratios. Two days. Covers everything in this course, plus significantly more.

Most settings need at least one person with the full 12-hour qualification and benefit from having additional staff trained to the 6-hour standard. We don’t make that determination for providers; the responsibility sits with you. But we do provide guidance throughout the enquiry process.

Certification and Validity

On completion, learners receive an accredited Emergency Paediatric First Aid certificate, valid for 3 years, delivered through Worksafe, FAIB, or Highfield.

The EYFS Statutory Framework recommends that providers consider whether annual refresher training is needed during the three-year certification period to maintain basic skills. Given how quickly CPR technique deteriorates without practice, this is worth building into your CPD calendar. Our Basic Life Support and AED Training is the natural annual skills update between full requalification cycles.

Why Organisations Book With Prima Cura

Most training providers arrive with a course. We arrive with yours.

Before the day, we gather information about your workplace: your incident reporting forms, your internal procedures, the specific hazards your team actually faces. On the day, your trainer works that into every scenario, every discussion, every practical exercise. If your staff work in a care home, they’re not practising on hypothetical office workers. If your team are lone workers, that context shapes how the session runs.

It means the training lands. Not because it was well-delivered in a generic sense, but because it was relevant to the people in the room and the situations they’ll actually encounter.

A few other things that matter to the organisations that book with us:

• 98.9% learner satisfaction across all Prima Cura courses
• All trainers hold Enhanced DBS certificates and maintain ongoing CPD
• We advise honestly on the qualification level at the enquiry stage. If a different course is a better fit for your workforce, we’ll say so before you book, not after

We respond to all enquiries within one working day.

Where We Deliver

We deliver in-house training at your setting or chosen venue across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also deliver nationally across England, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.

All sessions are led by experienced Prima Cura Training instructors. Groups are capped at 12 per trainer to protect the quality of hands-on learning.

Our associate network means we can deliver across England. You can meet the team on our Associates page.

FAQs

Further Reading

• First Aid Training for Schools and Early Years Settings in Greater Manchester: First aid training options for education and childcare settings across the region
• Benedict’s Law: What Schools and Early Years Settings Need to Know: Statutory allergy requirements coming into force in September 2026 and what they mean for settings
• Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines: The current evidence base for paediatric CPR and resuscitation

Related Courses

• Paediatric First Aid (2-Day)
• Emergency First Aid at Work
• Anaphylaxis Awareness
• Safeguarding Children Level 2
• Emergency First Aid for Schools

Book or Enquire

Book your training or request a quote

Tell us your team size and your sector. We’ll come back with a quote, the right advice on qualification level, and a straight answer on whether this is the best course for your team.

We respond to all enquiries within one working day.

Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance

At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice.

All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.

This course is reviewed against updates from the Department for Education, the Resuscitation Council UK, the Health and Safety Executive, and current UK legislation, including the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025), the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, and the Childcare Act 2006. All CPR and resuscitation content reflects the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines.

You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.

---

Reviewed by Stephanie Austin, Owner and Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer | Last reviewed: June 2026 | Next review: June 2027

This page is for general guidance only and reflects the EYFS Statutory Framework (effective 1 September 2025), current UK health and safety legislation, and Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelines at the date of review. It does not constitute legal advice. This course meets the 6-hour emergency paediatric first aid criteria set out in Annex A of the EYFS Statutory Framework and does not fulfil the statutory requirement for the designated paediatric first aider, who must hold a full 12-hour PFA qualification consistent with Annex A criteria. Early years providers remain responsible for ensuring their first aid arrangements comply with the EYFS Statutory Framework, the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, and all applicable legislation. Where compliance advice is needed, providers should seek independent guidance.

< back