Accreditation, registration and compliance…. What’s it all about?
Until a few years ago checking the credentials of a first aid training organisation was easyAll that was needed was to check they were registered with the HSE, or with an HSE approved centre….easy, but limiting for training providers and the courses they could offer.
On the 1st October 2013 things changed.
The HSE no longer approves training providers, although they do still demand certain criteria are met if first aid provision is to meet legal requirements for a workplace, namely to ensure a required standard of –
the qualifications expected of trainers and assessors
monitoring and quality assurance systems
teaching and standards of first-aid practice
syllabus content
certification
- without meeting these criteria, a course cannot be deemed appropriate for a workplace where the HSE require a qualified first aider to be present.
All responsibility is now placed on companies to show due diligence when choosing a first aid training provider, to ensure these criteria are met and therefore that the certificates they receive after any training will be fit for purpose.
But how do you know what questions to ask of their potential training providers or indeed what the criteria are?
Training providers can choose to compile and circulate documentation of their procedures and training which demonstrates this compliance, but it’s a huge amount of paperwork for a prospective client to trawl through, particularly when they may not be aware of what they are looking for.
They only want someone to provide some training after all, they are not usually experts in the field themselves and do not want to spend copious amounts of time sorting this out.
An easy way for a first aid training company to prove compliance and therefore quickly put their potential client’s mind at rest is to be registered with an Awarding Body (AB) or Industry Body (IB)
A main requirement of registration with one of these organisations is compliance with the HSE criteria. Therefore, if a training provider states that a course is run through, or registered by an AB or IB any potential client can be confident the checks have been made to ensure the training and certification will meet the requirements under Health and Safety law. There is also support for both the training provider and their clients from the Awarding/Industry Body should problems occur.
It is also possible, for the time being, to receive first aid training that is recognised by Ofqual, and which can be used towards further training and qualifications should first aid be a requirement of a larger course, such as child care or health and social care. This is possible because first aid now sits on the national Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) allowing students to gain unit accreditation (or credits) on successful completion of the course. The number of credits earned will depend upon the number of hours the course is delivered over, as stated in the HSE criteria. Unit accreditation can only be awarded if a course is run through an Awarding Body.
The entire QCF arrangement is currently under review and major changes are expected shortly.
Although this seems like a minefield at the moment, there is an ongoing review to streamline the regulation of work based first aid courses to give confidence to clients and support to training providers.
At Peak Skills we work hard to ensure our clients get the right courses with the right certificates at the right prices.
Please get in touch with us, by email, or by phone if you would like to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to steer you towards the best route for you!