Child Matters

01/12/2025

❤️ The new 2025 Resuscitation guidance recommends that children aged 4–6 receive annual resuscitation training in schools, a vital step toward building early lifesaving skills ❤️

👏 We are proud to continue working with primary and secondary schools across the UK to deliver junior first aid training that’s age-appropriate, hands-on, and memorable 👏

👉 If your school would like to arrange training, we’d love to hear from you. For more information please visit https://tinyurl.com/childfirstaid

26/11/2025

Parents often think that Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease only appears in these areas. But it’s very common to find the red sores on a child’s bottom or ge***al area too, as is in this little boys case.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a mild but highly contagious viral infection that clears up by itself within 7-10 days. It causes red sores often combined with a fever.

When little ones get blisters in their mouth, they may resist eating and drinking. This could lead to dehydration which can be very serious in children under the age of 5 who are especially at risk.

Children with HFMD are most contagious during the first week of their illness, even before blisters are present. They may sometimes remain contagious for weeks after symptoms go away. They only need to remain off from nursery while they are feeling poorly.

There is no specific treatment for HFMD. Fever and pain can be managed with over-the-counter paracetamol or ibuprofen. It is important for children to drink enough fluids to prevent loss of body fluids or dehydration.

Take Steps to Lessen Your Chances of Getting Sick by following a few simple steps:

Wash your hands often, especially after changing nappies, and help young children do the same.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact such as kissing, hugging, and sharing cups and eating utensils with children who have HFMD.
Disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.

24/11/2025

*Last chance to get first aid trained in Oxfordhire in 2025!*

Book on our Yarnton, Oxfordshire course running on 6th December 2025 by clicking on either of the links below. Perfect for preschool teachers, childminders, childcarers, nannies and anyone needing the OFSTED or EYFS recognised 3yr qualification.

Emergency Paediatric First Aid 6hr Classroom
https://www.protrainings.uk/classrooms/300442/signup

Paediatric First Aid Blended 12hr Learning (6hr Classroom/6hr Online)
https://www.protrainings.uk/classrooms/300429/signup

24/11/2025

*Get your first aid training booked in for the New Year in Yarnton*

As you can imagine, we get really busy just after Christmas.

To book 10th January, 30th January or 7th February or onwards in 2026 visit:-
child-matters.co.uk/events

Or contact me, Claire Street, at contact@childmatters.info or call 07788 7206122.

Each date runs both the 12hr blended Paediatric First Aid qualification for childcare professionals and the 6hr Emergency Paediatric First Aid for childminders and nannies. 9am - 4pm, held in Yarnton Village Hall, Oxfordshire.

- Blended learning courses (6 hours online and 6 hours practical classroom)
- Emergency Paediatric First Aid 6 hour classroom available too on same day
- 3 year certificate
- Exceed EYFS requirements & enables you to register for Ofsted
- CPD accredited course.

24/11/2025

*Get your first aid training booked in for the New Year in St Albans*

As you can imagine, we get really busy just after Christmas.

To book 24th January, 13th February or onwards in 2026 visit:-
child-matters.co.uk/events

Or contact me, Claire Street, at contact@childmatters.info or call 07788 7206122.

Each date runs both the 12hr blended Paediatric First Aid qualification for childcare professionals and the 6hr Emergency Paediatric First Aid for childminders and nannies. 9am - 4pm, held in St Albans, Herts.

- Blended learning courses (6 hours online and 6 hours practical classroom)
- Emergency Paediatric First Aid 6 hour classroom available too on same day
- 3 year certificate
- Exceed EYFS requirements & enables you to register for Ofsted
- CPD accredited course.

24/11/2025

*Get your first aid training booked in for the New Year*

As you can imagine, we get really busy just after Christmas.

To book any of these dates plus others in 2026 visit:- child-matters.co.uk/events or contact me, Claire Street, at contact@childmatters.info or call 07788 7206122.

Each date runs both the 12hr blended Paediatric First Aid qualification for childcare professionals and the 6hr Emergency Paediatric First Aid for childminders and nannies.

9am - 4pm held in URC Christ Church, Marlow near Sainsburys.

- Blended learning courses (6 hours online and 6 hours practical classroom)
- Emergency Paediatric First Aid 6 hour classroom available too on same day
- 3 year certificate
- Exceed EYFS requirements & enables you to register for Ofsted
- CPD accredited course.

19/11/2025

Calling all schools, teachers, parents and carers….

There are currently 500 schools in England with defibrillators that ambulance services can’t see. They’re not registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network, meaning 999 call handlers won't be able to locate them in an emergency.

Cardiac arrests are more common during colder months. A defibrillator on school grounds could save a life - but only if emergency services know it’s there.

Before the Christmas holidays, we’re urging every school to register their defibrillator on The Circuit.

11,500 have already done so, let's make it all 20,000.

Whether you’re a teacher, parent, grandparent, or carer, check if your school’s defib is registered at https://www.defibfinder.uk/

If it’s not, encourage them to take this simple, life-saving step.

Defib finder uses data from The Circuit, the national defibrillator network, to help you find information about the nearest defibrillators to you.

18/11/2025

Last month, Claire delivered a presentation on “Understanding Paediatric First Aid and the Differences When Treating Children and Babies” at the First Aiders Facilitators Forum (F.A.F.F.)—a large, experienced network of first aid trainers who meet twice a year to reflect on developments in the first aid sector, both in technical guidance and in real-world practice.

Her session emphasised that paediatric casualties are not simply “small adults.” Children deteriorate more quickly, compensate in different ways, and often cannot clearly express what is wrong.

Key points included:
✨ Observation is as important as symptoms
✨ Behaviour changes are clinical clues
✨ A quiet child may be more worrying than a crying one

Claire also highlighted important regulatory distinctions.

Under the EYFS statutory framework, a qualified paediatric first aider must be present at all times in early years settings. A standard workplace FAW qualification does not meet this requirement.

Another key takeaway was the emotional aspect of paediatric first aid: treating a child often introduces an extra layer of anxiety for responders. Effective paediatric training must therefore build calm confidence, not just technical skill.

Despite some pre-presentation nerves, Claire was delighted to receive such warm and positive feedback —

Dear Claire
We would both like to properly thank you for your incredible talk at the FAFF yesterday. There have been so many compliments since and the content was pitched perfectly. It's so valuable to learn from someone who combines their real-world experience with practical insight and the result was just ideal for the audience. The talk was informative and engaging and was clearly the result of a huge amount of time and effort in preparation.

This session certainly added to our collective knowledge and will undoubtedly improve the standard of teaching. We would also both love to shadow you on one of your paediatric courses!

Thank you again Claire for sharing your expertise with us.

Next time, we'll let you relax and enjoy the day!

Heather and Jenny
Training Legs First Aid Assist First Aid Training

12/11/2025

Real-Life Hero in Action!

🎉We’re incredibly proud to share that one of our young trainees, Ava, performed life-saving CPR on her dad after he suffered a heart attack after attending a First Aid Training session with Child Matters at Sonning Common Scout Group 🎉

Thanks to her quick thinking and courage, Ava helped save his life.

❤️Well done Ava! ❤️

👉 Read the full story on the BBC News website - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgkj1wzgg7o

👉 Interested in running a first aid session in your club or setting? We’d love to help — get in touch to arrange a session in your club or setting.

05/11/2025

*Few spaces remaining on our 2025 paediatric first aid courses so book your place today*

👀Marlow on 15th November, 21st November, 3rd December, 5th December or 6th December from 9am-4pm held in URC Christ Church, Marlow near Sainsburys.

To book any of these dates visit:- child-matters.co.uk/events or contact me, Claire Street, at contact@childmatters.info or call 07788 7206122

Each date runs both the 12hr blended Paediatric First Aid qualification for childcare professionals and the 6hr Emergency Paediatric First Aid for childminders and nannies.

- Blended learning courses (6 hours online and 6 hours practical classroom)
- Emergency Paediatric First Aid 6 hour classroom available too on same day
- 3 year certificate
- Exceed EYFS requirements & enables you to register for Ofsted
- CPD accredited course.

04/11/2025

Thank you Fiona for sending us such a lovely review. We love teaching your preschool.🥰

Here's what Fiona said about us:-

"I just wanted to say HUGE congratulations on your MASSIVE achievement of being awarded best instructor which is so richly deserved!!

Your organisation is so dedicated, knowledgeable and professional and your training is first class. As a Pre-school, once we found you, we never looked elsewhere or took up other offers for our First Aid or specific related training.

We were always really grateful for your knowledge, and for delivering the training in an understandable and engaging way.

You continually updated your resources which enabled us to develop our practical experiences. We really were very grateful and I wish you continued success for the future.

Take care and best wishes, Fiona"

28/10/2025

RCUK publishes Guidelines 2025

The main change in Paediatric CPR announced yesterday is the technique used on infant chest compressions

Chest compressions:
👏 Perform chest compressions on a firm surface if immediately available.
👉 Remove clothes only if they hinder chest compressions.
❤️ Perform chest compressions over the lower half of the sternum (breastbone) in all age groups. 
👍 Use the two-thumb encircling method for chest compressions in infants.  This is no longer 2 fingers
✋ Use the one-hand or two-hand technique in children older than 1 year, or when unable to give high-quality chest compressions with the two-thumb-encircling technique. 

Deliver high-quality chest compressions as defined by: 
⏱️ Rate of 100-120 min-1.
🫸 Depress the chest by at least one third of the anteroposterior dimension.
📏 Use the adult depth recommendation of 5-6 cm in adolescents, and do not exceed a depth of 6 cm at any age.
 
CHOKING

❤️ Give up to 5 chest/abdominal thrusts if back blows are not effective:

In infants:
🫸 Turn the infant onto their back and lay them on your knees.
👍 Use the two-thumb encircling technique to perform chest thrusts as advised for chest compressions, but compressing the sternum more sharply. Repeat up to 5 times or until the obstruction is relieved.  

👉 There is still no recommendation for the use of suction based devices for clearing choking due to unsufficient evidence.

For further information please visit https://shorturl.at/ZQkuc