Accepted first aid qualifications

Check if your external first aid qualification is suitable for guiding.

If you hold a valid full external first aid qualification you may already have the training you need to provide first aid support in guiding.

Which other training will count?

A full first aid qualification is provided and accredited by an organisation or governing body like but not limited to; St John Ambulance, British Red Cross, or the Football Association.

The course must take at least 6 hours.

Your course will be verified against the 1st response syllabus. If part of the 1st response syllabus isn't covered in your training, you'll need to also attend the relevant 1st response session.

The 3 sessions are:

Life support

• Approach and assessment 
• CPR for an adult 
• CPR for a child 
• Use of AED (automated external defibrillator) 
• Choking 
• Causes and level of unresponsiveness 
• Recovery/safe airway position 

Trauma and injury

• Shock
• Bleeding (including tourniquets)
• Fractures and sprains
• Ticks
• Head injury
• Spinal
• Dental incidents
• Burns

Major illness

• Asthma
• Anaphylaxis
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Seizures
• Diabetes
• Sepsis/meningitis

If dental, meningitis or sepsis or ticks aren't included in your course the following resources can cover these topics:

• Dental
• Meningitis/Sepsis
• Ticks

If you're a doctor, nurse or other health care professional you'll need to provide evidence of a current, in date training such as BLS, ILS or ALS. You'll need to submit this evidence through the external first aid area of the learning platform. A first aid verifier will then review this with you. If approved through verification, this will last for the duration of the certificate you've provided. 

1st response e-learning

If you have a qualification or you have prior learning that's been accepted as an equivalent, you'll still need to complete the 1st response e-learning which covers the policies and procedures you need to know when you're a first aider at Girlguiding. You'll need to complete this e-learning before your qualification is recorded on GO. 

Process for checking equivalency

All recognised prior learning or external courses will need to be verified through the external first aid area of the learning platform. This will be verified by your region first aid verifier team. You'll be asked to complete your 1st response e-learning (if you haven't already done so) before you're able to upload your external course for verification. You'll be asked to provide your certificate as well as information regarding how your external course has covered the 1st response syllabus. 

Buying in external first aid providers

In some cases, external first aid providers may be brought in by a local guiding team to deliver a first aid course for members. The external course must cover the full syllabus as outlined above to be counted an approved external course. External providers should be delivering their own course material, not the 1st response course material. External providers are responsible for the content, quality and issuing of any relevant certifications.

External courses don't need a Girlguiding trainer in attendance and we don't have responsibility for how the session is delivered. We would treat this course the same as an individual who has accessed a course independently from Girlguiding and assess its suitability against the outlined criteria.

We would recommend using well recognised first aid providers such as St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross and ensuring their course covers the full syllabus in advance of booking.