In the childcare industry approved first aid qualifications are not just desirable — they are essential. For a childcare service to be compliant, educators must meet the National Regulations as outlined by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

If you run or work in a childcare centre and are wondering what it takes for you to be compliant, our handy checklist can help. Download it for free below and print and display it at your centre as a regular reminder to keep your first aid qualifications up to date.

Requirements for first aid, anaphylaxis and emergency asthma training vary from centre-based services to family day care services, but the more educators holding current, approved first aid qualifications, the better.

Training in first aid isn’t a one-time course. You will generally need to renew your qualifications every three years, whether it’s in first aid training, anaphylaxis management or emergency asthma training. To maintain current CPR qualifications, a refresher course needs to be undertaken every 12 months.

Submit the form below to download our ‘First aid in child care compliance checklist’.

At Practical Outcomes, we can help stay on top of your first-aid training. We are specialists in first aid group training and we want to ensure that keeping all educators’ qualifications up to date is simple and aligned to your needs. Our nationally recognised first aid courses, such as HLTAID004 Provide an emergency first aid response in an education and care setting, and are delivered by qualified trainers. Plus, our group training comes to you so you can get it done with minimal disruption.

Browse our first aid courses here or get in touch to discuss the best approach to training your entire childcare team at the required intervals to ensure your centre is compliant at all times.

First aid courses at Practical Outcomes

Our child care courses prepare students to work in a range of scenarios with young people of all backgrounds and learning capabilities. Being aware of the health of the children in your classroom is another essential component of working in child care and it always pays to be prepared for a range of circumstances, including seizures.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation a seizure is caused by a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain, which is sparked by chemical changes in nerve cells.

This can cause a range of symptoms including fainting, muscle contractions and spasms, involuntary movement, loss of vision, pins and needles and memory lapse, along with a general feeling of panic and unease.

Seizures are not a disease but are a symptom of various disorders that impact the brain. Whatever the underlying cause, there are a number of things you can do when someone is having a seizure to help prevent them from injuring themselves and/or others.

Seizure first aid

Seizures range from mild to severe, in any case always try to follow these steps if you witness someone affected:

1. Protect the person from injury by stopping them from falling, or gently guiding them to the floor.
2. Clear the space around the impacted person, including furniture or other objects that might collide with the person during their seizures.
3. If you can get the person having a seizure onto the ground, position them on his or her side so that fluid can leak out of the mouth. Do not force anything, including your fingers, into the person’s mouth or try to hold them down as this can cause injury.

When to seek emergency assistance?

• If the person having a seizure is pregnant
• If the person stops breathing for longer than 30 seconds
• When the seizure lasts longer than five minutes
• If they have already had a seizure within 24 hours
• If, after the seizure, the person develops new symptoms such as a fever or difficulty walking, speaking, or thinking clearly
• If the person injures themselves during the seizure (cuts, dislocated joints etc)

Seizures are a fact of life for many people, young and old.


What else you need to know about first aid?

A first aid qualification at work is a must for any industry, but having a first aid certificate at work is a National Regulation in child care, as per ACECQA. To ensure your child care service is compliant, you first need to know what the requirements are. Our checklist can help.

First aid in the workplace — Childcare checklist

1. Ensure service has an appropriate number of first aid kits stored in readily accessible places
2. First aid kits should be fully stocked with no expired items
3. All staff must be aware of the location of the first-aid kits
4. Ensure all staff members at the service hold a current approved first aid qualification
5. All staff members should have current CPR qualifications
6. Maintain a system to monitor current staff first aid qualifications including renewal every three years for first aid, every 12 months for CPR
7. Ensure staff members have current approved anaphylaxis training
8. Ensure staff members have current approved emergency asthma management training

Choosing a first aid course at work

Training with Practical Outcomes means you can study a first aid qualification at work, thanks to our online learning portal. This enables childcare professionals to be well on the way to getting a first aid certificate at work or other convenient times, before the practical workshop component.

Our nationally recognised courses cover all areas of first aid in the workplace, with one first aid course dedicated to the childcare industry’s needs.

Browse our first aid courses online here or get in touch to talk about how we can train your entire childcare team at the required intervals to ensure your centre is compliant at all times.

What else do you need to know about first aid?

All schools and those who care for and/or educate children should have current first aid qualifications to ensure that children’s health and safety is a priority at all times. Whether it’s a scraped knee, a broken bone or an asthma attack, your knowledge of first aid is essential for the well-being of the children in your care.

So how do you know if your school or school-like organisation is first aid compliant? This checklist can help.

First aid in schools — Checklist

1. First aid kits should be provided by the school
2. Staff must be able to readily access first-aid kits
3. First aid kits should be fully stocked with all items within their expiry date
4. Have a designated first aid officer/s for your school
5. Make portable first aid kits available for excursions and other events off-school premises
6. Ensure sufficient staff are trained in first aid
7. Ensure staff members’ first aid qualifications are current
8. Put a system in place to update staff members’ first aid qualifications at least every three years
9. Relevant staff members should update CPR qualifications every 12 months
10. Are all staff members aware of your school’s first-aid procedures

For more guidance on first aid compliance in Victorian schools click here to visit the School Policy Advisory Guide.

The more individuals working with children have first aid qualifications, the better. Even if it’s not a requirement, if you work with children it is well worth considering a first aid course to ensure you have the confidence and skills to provide first aid in an emergency. After all, your knowledge of first aid could save a life.

When it comes to first aid in schools, Practical Outcomes provides the accredited first aid courses you need.

Browse our first aid courses online here or get in touch to talk about how we can train your school staff at the required intervals to maintain current qualifications and stay compliant.

What else do you need to know about first aid?

First aid kits of many shapes and sizes can be bought, including some designed specifically for the home, for travel or to provide care for children. If you’re putting one together yourself you can even tailor it to your own needs and those of your family. For example, if you have a family member living with allergies, asthma or a particular illness that could require emergency treatment.

A first aid kit for home

Your workplace should have at least one first aid kit — if you don’t know where that it, make sure you ask. But it’s also important to have one at home.

Providing first aid at home can be as simple as applying an adhesive dressing, however emergency situations can certainly arise within the home. This means your first aid kit could enable you to be equipped to provide help at home in an emergency while waiting for medical assistance to arrive.

So what should your first aid kit contain? Download the list here to print and take to the shops with you.

First aid kit for travel

If you’re traveling, you’ll need a first aid kit to take with you on your trips too. This is likely to contain similar items, however there are some extra items you could decide to buy and have with you to be fully equipped. Download the list here to print and take to the shops with you.

First aid kits for children

If you have children or just want to be prepared, things like adhesive plasters with characters or pictures on them can make for a more enjoyable first aid experience for a child. But it’s not only the difference between basic first aid kit and first aid kit for children. Download the list here and check if you are prepared.

If you haven’t received first aid training including how to perform life-saving CPR, you can train any time with Practical Outcomes. Book the course if you are ready.

Don’t forget to share this with your friends and family via email by clicking here
Or you can share it on social media via buttons below.


What else you need to know about first aid?
Book the course if your are ready

If you already have a level 1 first aid qualification, you might have undertaken a CPR component, but it’s worth noting that CPR qualifications need to be refreshed every 12 months to remain current.

Everyone can benefit from CPR training, and while these CPR steps are useful to get familiar with the procedure, learning how to do CPR is an essential life (and life-saving) skill.

How to do CPR

You might have heard of DRSABCD as a first aid action plan. These letters form the acronym to act as a reminder of how to do CPR and the order of the steps involved.

When you are required to perform CPR, these seven steps should be on your checklist.

1. Danger — Is there any danger to you or other people? Check that the area around you is safe for you and the patient to remain there.
2. Response — Is the person responsive? Ask them their name or see if they respond to touch. If they do respond, continue to check for injury, keep speaking to them and monitor their response and the situation.
3. Send for help — If the person was not responsive, call 000 immediately.
4. Airway — Check the person’s airway (mouth and nose) and remove any potential obstructions. Tilt the person’s head back by lifting their chin to open the airway.
5. Breathing — Is the person breathing? Is the breathing normal or gasping or wheezing? If the person is not breathing normally, commence CPR.
6. CPR — Thirty chest compressions followed by two breaths and repeat. CPR should continue until help arrives or the patient becomes responsive and breathes normally.
7. Defibrillate — If available, attach an automated external defibrillator (AED) and follow the voice prompts.

While these CPR steps can help you remember your CPR training, learning how to do CPR with first aid training is a must. Book with Practical Outcomes here.


What else you need to know about first aid?
Book the course if your are ready

You should be undertaking first aid renewal every three years, and CPR training every 12 months. You might be thinking ‘But I know ABC first aid like the back of my hand’, but there are a few reasons why first aid renewal needs to occur every three years.

1. The guidelines and procedures can change

Each year, new medical advancements are made, guidelines are revisited and procedures can be updated or amended. To stay on top of all changes, regular first aid renewal is vital. You don’t want to perform a previous version of a first aid procedure if there is a newer, more effective version available, especially when it comes to life-saving procedures

2. To continually refresh skills and knowledge

Even if only a few details have changed since you last did a first aid course, if you’re not performing first aid and CPR on a regular basis you’re likely to start to forget little things.

Keep your skills and knowledge refreshed and stay in practice by renewing within the recommended three-year time frame for first aid or every 12 months for the CPR component.

3. Stay confident

It’s one thing to know first aid techniques, but it’s another to have the confidence to apply them when the time comes. Regular training ensures that you will always have the confidence (along with those life-saving skills) to act quickly and effectively when faced with a potentially stressful medical situation.

Book in your first aid renewal

If you got your first aid certificate three years ago, now is the time for your first aid renewal. You can book in here.

Don’t forget to renew your CPR training every 12 months. Click here to book.

What else you need to know about first aid?
Book the course if your are ready

There are many situations in which you may need to use CPR in schools, after-school care, school holiday programs and more. Firstly, it’s important to recall what CPR does.

How can CPR save a child’s life?

CPR keeps oxygen traveling around a person’s body by creating artificial circulation, doing the job of the heart when the heart cannot in an unresponsive person. It is essential to keep the blood flowing to get oxygen to the brain to prevent the patient’s brain from suffering irreversible brain damage.

When would CPR in schools become necessary?

There are many situations in which it may become necessary to use CPR in settings with children. Many medical emergencies would call for its use and it could be potentially life-saving.

Here are some examples of when you might use CPR in schools or with children:

• Near drowning
• Smoke inhalation
• Accidents
• Anaphylactic reaction
• Suffocation
• Poisoning
• Any time a child is non-responsive

CPR is different for children

The way we perform CPR in schools and similar organisations does not involve the same techniques as when we perform CPR on adults.

As children and babies have smaller bodies, we adjust the style of chest compressions for babies under 1 and children aged between 1 and 8. This is a crucial part of your education around using CPR.

Get qualified in first aid

To gain the expertise you need to perform CPR on children or adults, first aid training is a must. Book in with Practical Outcomes and enjoy the simplicity of online pre-learning followed by a practical group workshop to apply your new skills.


What else you need to know about first aid?
Book the course if you are ready

Gaining proper training of how to apply first aid is vital — if you’re not performing first aid correctly there can be a lot at stake including someone’s life. First aid qualifications give you the skills and knowledge required to apply first aid in a variety of situations, including those that are life threatening.

There are some first aid procedures that many people perform incorrectly.

1. Sucking out venom from snake or spider bites

It’s no secret that Australia is home to some dangerous snakes and spiders, and this is certainly an instance where first aid is required. No matter what you have read, do not suck the wound and attempt to suck out the venom from the bite victim. Don’t wash the wound either — traces of venom can be vital for medical professionals to find out what type of venom it is and therefore know how to treat it.

2. Restraining a seizure victim

If your first aid knowledge is very out of date, you might think holding a seizure victim down to restrain them is a good idea. Now we know that is definitely not the right approach to seizure first aid. While it’s hard to watch and not do anything, all you can really do is make the surrounds as comfortable and safe as possible to protect their head during the seizure and wait until it is over.

3. Tilt head back during nose bleed

A common yet incorrect way of dealing with nose bleeds is to suggest the person experiencing the nose bleed tilts their head back. This will not stop the nose bleed and will cause the blood to run down the person’s throat. Keeping the head upright and pinching the nostrils is a much better idea.

4. Inducing vomiting after an incident of poisoning

When someone has ingested poison, it may seem logical to encourage them to vomit and even take vomit-inducing medication. This can cause esophageal damage and worsen the situation, so you’re best to call an ambulance and describe symptoms to gain the best advice on what to do.

Fast action when it counts

A powerful way that having first aid qualifications can save a life is by giving you the confidence and understanding of how to handle and assess an emergency situation. In a moment of crisis when every second counts, to be able to apply first aid effectively can transform a patient’s chance of survival.

Ready to learn these life saving first aid procedures and know what to do when faced with a medical emergency? Book into a Practical Outcomes first aid course.

What else you need to know about first aid?