Thousands of Tayside children are still missing out on the opportunity to learn lifesaving first aid skills in school.
Last year, following The Courier’s First Aid Kids campaign which aimed to introduce the training to all pupils in Scotland, then Education Secretary John Swinney pledged to create a school strategy.
The campaign also had the backing of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Data obtained through a series of freedom of information requests shows a postcode lottery across the region as only a small number of schools offer the lessons.
Our interactive map, below, shows which schools provide the training and which age groups are equipped with the vital skills.
First aid training is not a mandatory part of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland.
A postcode lottery
Last year, we shared the tale of James McMahon, who rescued his dad after he had a seizure and suffered a head injury.
The boy, aged 11 at the time, had learned how to respond thanks to training at his Dunfermline school.
However, figures have revealed a disparity in the number of children receiving the lifesaving training.
In Dundee, just four secondary schools offer the safety training. Not all pupils at the schools learn the skills.
Baldragon Academy S2 pupils are taught first aid at school, Grove Academy’s S5 and S6 students receive first aid training from HeartStart Discovery and S1s at Harris Academy receive the training.
Braeview Academy is the most inclusive school as S1 to S5 pupils are taught the lifesaving skills.
Angus pupils from 16 schools were taught first aid, however there was no consistent theme across the county for age groups or length of lessons.
Some schools in the region had also provided training in the past but failed to deliver it this year because of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, 27 schools in Perth and Kinross confirmed their pupils are trained in first aid.
While more children in the region are learning the skills in comparison to their Tayside counterparts, a postcode lottery still exists as the provision is inconsistent across schools.
Perth Grammar School, for example, is the only secondary school to offer the training to all pupils in S1-S6.
Six primary schools, including Balbeggie, Meigle and Stanley, also train every age group.
Figures are not available for Fife schools as the local authority did not respond to our freedom of information request.
First aid strategy
Despite Mr Swinney’s pledge to work with St Andrew’s First Aid to develop a national first aid strategy for pupils, thousands of children are not learning the lifesaving skills.
The Scottish Government said it remains committed to the process, which has been delayed by Covid-19.
A spokeswoman said: “We recognise how important it is that children and young people are able to positively engage with health and wellbeing issues at school. Being trained in first aid can help young people develop the skills they may need in an emergency situation.
“Development of our strategy on first aid in schools has been delayed and impacted by our need to respond to the on-going pandemic, however we are determined to progress this work, balanced with other education priorities, as soon as we can.”
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