Resuscitation Council UK is delighted that, today, the Welsh Senedd has voted to pass the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill and that there is now commitment to lifesaving skills being taught in Welsh schools from 2022. This completes the Bill’s fourth and final stage in the Senedd before receiving Royal Assent.
Earlier this month during the Bill’s third stage in the Senedd, Kirsty Williams MS, the Welsh Minister for Education, committed to include lifesaving skills in the statutory guidance. The guidance will state that: “Schools should also consider what strategies their learners will need to be able to safely intervene to support others who may be at risk. This should include lifesaving skills and first aid".
This means that from 2022 all young people in Wales will get the opportunity to learn crucial lifesaving skills in the classroom. As a result, Welsh pupils will know how to do CPR in an emergency, and potentially save someone’s life.
In response to the passing of the Bill, Dr James Cant, Chief Executive of Resuscitation Council UK, said:
"We welcome the passing of the Bill, and the Education Minister’s confirmation that all school pupils across Wales will learn vital lifesaving skills from 2022.
“We want to see every young person across the UK given the opportunity to learn CPR, to ensure that no school student misses out on learning the skills needed to save the life of someone in cardiac arrest.
“We know that rapid action by others is crucial to someone’s chances of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest. Making CPR education universally available within schools will positively impact survival rates. Other countries, where CPR is taught universally in schools, see higher rates of survival after cardiac arrest than the UK. "
"Wales will join Scotland and England, where there is already commitment to teach CPR and AED awareness skills to secondary school students.
“We encourage teachers across the UK to use our free resources to teach secondary students CPR. Our lesson plan gives pupils everything they need to learn the skills and gain the confidence to save a life in an emergency. ”
