February 07, 2013
Michael Gove has missed first opportunity to save lives, must
not miss second
A
review of the national curriculum in England has disappointingly
failed to find room for life-saving CPR skills.
Education Secretary Michael Gove MP announced
today what subjects would be taught in primary and secondary
schools as part of the national curriculum. While all the current
curriculum subjects were retained, there was no inclusion of
emergency life support skills, which
include CPR.
However, Mr Gove will now look at exactly what
each of the confirmed national curriculum subjects should include.
It means there is still an opportunity
CPR could be taught but within another subject’s programme
of study.
Respond to the Government’s new consultation on the
programmes of study
This is a golden opportunity to make a lasting difference to this country’s terrible cardiac arrest survival rates
Along with Resuscitation
Council UK (RCUK) , we want to see emergency life support skills
become a
mandatory part of the secondary
school curriculum in England. At the moment,
only
1 in 10 people survive a witnessed,
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK. In Seattle and some parts
of Norway, where CPR is taught in all schools, survival rates are
more than 50 per cent.
In September, former footballer Fabrice
Muamba, who collapsed in cardiac arrest during an FA Cup match,
delivered to Downing Street a
100,000-strong petition backing the BHF and RCUK’s
campaign.
Read Fabrice Muamba's blog
Maura Gillespie, our Head of Policy and
Advocacy, said: “Michael Gove talks about concentrating only on the
essential knowledge and skills which every child should master. So
it’s incredible to think he has found no room for CPR, one of
the most essential skills any child could ever
learn.
“It’s dismaying there is no place for CPR but
the Government could still ensure every child leaves school knowing
how to save a life if it were to include CPR in a core curriculum
subject.
“This is a golden opportunity to make a
lasting difference to this country’s terrible cardiac
arrest survival rates.”
Learn more
about our campaign to ensure every child leaves school knowing how
to save a life