Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether funding is available for schools to purchase (a) defibrillators and (b) CPR training equipment.

The department provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

The programme is now closed; however, schools who wish to purchase defibrillators are able to buy them through the NHS Defibs4Schools programme, which provides defibrillators of a suitable specification. Defibs4Schools can be contacted at: defibs4schools@supplychain.nhs.uk.

Schools have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use.

It is for schools to decide what training equipment may be suitable to facilitate the delivery of CPR training at their school, based on their individual circumstances. The department provides advice on free resources in its defibrillator guidance to schools, including the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) RevivR CPR training and BHF CPR training pack for secondary schools. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.