For four years, Broadlands Primary School has been leading the way in teaching vital lifesaving skills to children in the county. Jesse Norman visited the school in February to see first hand how it teaches pupils to recognise heart attacks, cardiac arrest and give CPR.
Led by class teacher Kate Best, the children underwent role-play exercises in spotting the signs of a heart attack, designed posters showing the symptoms to look for and learnt the rhythm of giving CPR by bouncing basketballs and playing a form of “pat-a-cake” before practicing on mannequins.
She said: “There are seven, one-hour sessions and a revision session. The children absolutely love it. You should have heard the cheer this morning!”
Herefordshire Heartstart is encouraging more schools to take part. Co-ordinator/Project Manager Loraine Coleman said: “I would like to see all schools taking part in this incredible scheme.”
School training packs include: DVDs, Resusci-Anne dolls, instructors’ guide, skill cards and activity sheets.
