Life. Live it. First Aid Education

General overview of the title
Life. Live it. First aid education for children is a new website from the British Red Cross designed to help primary school children (ages 5 -7 and 7-11) learn simple first aid actions so that they are confident enough to know what to do to help someone else without risk to themselves. The resource contains three comprehensive, adaptable lesson plans intended to support teachers (with little previous knowledge of first aid) to help their pupils to learn a number of key actions: keep safe when helping others; keep calm and listen; get help. The resource uses a number of approaches, including film scenarios of hazardous situations, three ‘drag and drop’ interactive activities, ‘how to’ videos, quizzes and worksheets and involves regular discussion in order to support children to identify hazards, recognise risk and stress the importance of getting adult support whenever possible. Life. Live it. supports the PSHE and Citizenship curriculum as well as SEAL and Every Child Matters initiatives.

How did you use the title with your class?
I have a year 6 class of mixed ability 10 and 11-year-olds. I introduced Life. Live it. Stay Safe with the whole class using a whiteboard and projector. We had already completed a module on ‘Drugs and drug awareness’ so they were already familiar with the ideas of risk and danger. We watched the short film scenario called Hot Chocolate: part 1 and discussed the risks involved in a child boiling a kettle to make hot chocolate without an adult present. We discussed the risks and how the danger of scalding could have been avoided.

We then played Spot the Danger interactive activity. The children (in mixed ability pairs) were given a couple of minutes to identify possible hazards. We then completed the activity online with one member of the class controlling the mouse to highlight hazards in each of the levels 1 – 3. On each level, we discussed the risks involved in each situation and how they could be resolved.

The children then worked in small groups to think about hazards in a variety of places (park, beach, building site, countryside, carpark) and make simple warning notices to help other children avoid accidents. The children were asked to summarise for themselves what they had learned from the lesson.

In the next session, we started to think about how we could Help Save Lives. We discussed first aid and examples of people being hurt: minor injuries and serious accidents. We discussed what we might do in both cases. I then showed the short film scenario (Hot Chocolate: Part 2) and we discussed how the victim’s sister successfully treats the scald with cold running water, which led to a discussion of treatment.

The children then worked in six small mixed-ability groups to become experts in certain situations: choking, burn, bleeding, unconscious, asthma attack and broken bone. They watched the relevant ‘How to...’ video on laptops with headphones and devised their own instructions of what to do. We then came back together and discussed each group’s ideas, amending them whenever necessary.
The children did experience some difficulty with playing the videos if too many tried to access them at the same time. This was due to our school broadband connection. I had no difficulty at all when using the IWB with the class and would recommend that this is the best way to access the videos if you have a slow connection like me.

I also set up two classes to use on the website through the teachers’ area. One class was set up as a single login for use on the interactive white board, the second class was for my pupils to have individual logins.

The first time, we completed the Stay Safe quiz Section 1 as a whole class with a single login, discussing the questions and the reasons why we chose a particular answer. The children then logged on individually to complete the quiz including Section 2 which gives an indication of how willing the pupil is to take action themselves as well as how confident they would feel in a variety of situations.

The publishers give a time guidance of 60 minutes with age 7-11 for each lesson but there is so much you can do with each section, I feel there is definitely scope to use the Help Save Lives and Emergency Action resources for at least 2 x 60 minutes per theme. They do state that with consolidation there is a half a term of weekly lessons.

I added links to the site through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and several children continued to work with the resources for homework and thoroughly enjoyed re-watching the ‘how to’ videos
The children were very enthusiastic about continuing to use the resources even though they were moving on to their secondary schools.

Special Needs
I used the resources with either whole class or in mixed ability pairs/ small groups, which meant those pupils who struggle with literacy had support at all times to write down their ideas. The clear visual impact of the videos appeals to all including the less able pupil. Printable or photocopiable worksheets are provided at two levels to cater for the younger (5-7) or less able pupil.
Life. Live it. is flexible, practical and versatile enough to cater for a wide range of abilities.

How your pupils used the title
Life. Live it. is a very accessible website. Adding a link to the school website or VLE means the resources are just a click away. Each section/ theme is clearly tabbed in the order you would use it in. The film scenarios are short and clear with simple messages. The information is relevant and effective.
Introducing the resource in a whole class situation meant the teacher can control the learning and reinforce the mantra – if in doubt, stay clear and call 999. All the first aid messages covered are simple, use clear steps, and are very memorable.

The children enjoyed working in pairs and small groups to discuss the scenarios and felt empowered after studying the ‘how to...’ videos ; they spoke confidently about their newly-found area of expertise’. We used the Treat Me interactive whiteboard activity as a plenary to consolidate their understanding. As the teacher, with only very basic first aid, I felt very confident about using the materials.

The resource includes on-line multiple-choice quizzes for each of the three themes: Stay Safe, Help Save Lives and Emergency Action. These can be used as a single login for use with the whole class on an IWB or for pupils to have individual logins. As everything is on line, the quizzes can be completed in class, in a lunchtime club or at home. Once they have been completed, the teacher can then log in to find out each child’s understanding of first aid, as well as how confident they were in using first aid and their willingness to act in a situation. The children were enthusiastic about the material and enjoyed completing them.

The teacher’s view of the title

Life. Live it. has been produced by the British Red Cross to help children understand risk, keep safe and get help in order to help others. The video resources are short, well made and make their point clearly. The teacher can feel confident in delivering first aid basics without having any previous experience.

The three lesson themes are well planned, and contain a variety of activities to promote discussion of the topic: film scenarios, interactive whiteboard activities and quizzes.

Whilst there are resources aimed at different age groups, differentiation is mainly by outcome.

Life. Live it. was very easy to integrate into my teaching and it reinforced work we had already done on drug awareness and electricity safety. In year 6, we try to equip our pupils with the skills to spot dangers of all kinds. By working through these first aid situations, the class enjoyed the idea they could make a positive contribution. I shall definitely continue to use the resource.

Does the title offer value for money?
Life. Live it. is a free and highly recommended website, full of valuable timesaving and informative resources for teachers to use and copy for education purposes. For access to all the printable materials, lesson plans, printable worksheets, certificates and activity ideas, all the teacher has to do is register an email address and password. By registering, the teacher can then set up classes to use, quickly and easily, for assessment information on the quizzes.

What do your pupils say about the title?
Megan: “I loved the ‘help someone having an asthma attack’ video as several members have asthma in my family. I feel confident I could help now.”
Kabwe: “The videos are cool and easy to understand. They’re short and simple – great for kids!”
Reaste: “I loved the drag and drop quizzes. It felt good to know I’d done the right things if it had been an emergency.”
Mason: “I showed my mum the website at home. She was really impressed too.”
Rebecca: “I liked the website. All the writing was clear and easy to understand. I liked the cartoon characters... and it was very easy to find my way around. The videos were short and very helpful.”

Specific comment from the evaluator
Life. Live it. is an important educational resource. The professional resources support teachers to deliver key first aid messages to their pupils. The comprehensive lesson plans in the teacher’s area are clear, easy to use and adaptable depending on the amount of time you have to deliver the programme.

The first theme –Stay Safe- using a film scenario about a boy getting scalded while making hot chocolate was ideal for introducing the topic and getting the children talking about the risks and how to avoid them. They quickly adapted their understanding to a variety of other situations.
The second theme – Help Save Lives - contains six scenarios depicting an injured person. Pupils are asked to think about first aid treatment. Having viewed the videos, there is an interactive activity – Treat me – that helps consolidate their understanding into four clear sequential actions for each scenario.

The third and final theme – Emergency action – reinforces the previous work and enables the children to think clearly about how they would react in an emergency situation.
Life. Live it. gives children a taster into first aid, the importance of staying safe when helping others and getting help in an emergency. The children absorb the information quickly. The information is cleverly designed to be memorable so that they can remember and apply their knowledge and skills.

Summary
Life. Live it. is a fantastic new website from the British Red Cross designed to help primary school children understand simple first aid actions so that they are confident enough to know what to do to help someone else without risk to themselves. The three comprehensive, adaptable lesson plans support busy teachers (especially those with little previous knowledge of first aid) to help their pupils learn key actions: keep safe when helping others; keep calm and listen; get help. The film scenarios of hazardous situations are great for discussion; thethree ‘drag and drop’ interactive activities, quizzes and worksheets are clear, simple, memorable and easy to adopt in the primary classroom. Life. Live it. is a valuable resource, highly recommended.