§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he will require basic instruction in first aid to be part of the national curriculum.
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. Friend has no such plans. Section 1 of the Education Reform Act 1988 already requires the curriculum of maintained schools to prepare 403W pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. As part of that preparation, all pupils are now required to be taught those aspects of safety education contained in several national curriculum core and foundation subjects. In addition, the National Curriculum Council has issued guidance to all maintained schools in England offering advice on how schools might incorporate topics about safety education, including knowledge of basic first aid, into their wider programmes of health education.