Review of FAA first aid qualifications
03 Aug 2022
Following a recent review by the First Aid Awarding Organisation Forum of the first aid at work and paediatric first aid qualifications FAA have subsequently made the required amendments.
CHANGES TO THE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The vast majority of changes are minor grammatical amendments that do not affect the content or assessment of the course.
The updated learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the qualifications can be found in the relevant FAA Qualification Specification available to download on NucoPlus.
All required changes have been reflected in the assessment documentation, so it is essential that you fully familiarise yourself with the new assessment paperwork prior to use.
FAA COURSE PAPERWORK AND GUIDANCE
The FAA course paperwork and guidance has been reviewed and amended to incorporate the required changes and the updated course paperwork and guidance can be found on NucoPlus. By using the new paperwork, guidance, and PP and trainer notes, you will ensure that you are teaching to the new requirements.
Trainers must ensure they use the new course paperwork and destroy any old course paperwork they may be holding for the above qualifications.
FAA continually try to improve the course paperwork, including making completion as simple as possible, but there are certain regulatory requirements that must be covered due to the paperwork providing evidence of a learner’s achievement.
Following the review of these qualifications FAA will be continuing with the other FAA first aid and related qualifications. We will inform you as the other qualifications are amended and please bear with us during this period when the paperwork and guidance is not standardised.
FAA COURSE REGISTER AND ASSESSMENT RESULTS
There are now two common FAA Course Register and Assessment Results documents covering most FAA qualifications. One register covers a maximum of 12 learners and the other a maximum of 16 learners, depending on the qualification.
The FAA Award in First Aid at Work requalification course has a separate register which includes a column for the entry of the learner’s old qualification date and an amended trainer/assessor declaration where the trainer/assessor confirms that all learners were eligible to attend the 2-day course and all evidence of this has been retained.
The qualification being delivered should be entered in the box provided e.g. FAA Award in First Aid at Work.
The register has been simplified with only one box to complete to confirm a learner’s achievement.
FAA LEARNER REGISTRATION FORM
The FAA Learner Registration Form now covers all FAA qualifications with the qualification being entered under the course information.
The learner registration form includes general assessment guidance for learners.
FAA PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT RECORD
As it did previously this document details the required steps for successful completion of a scenario and protocol to be followed. As relevant, additional protocol requirements can be found in the FAA Marking Guide.
Learner practical assessment results should now be recorded on the table at the end of the document.
WRITTEN ASSESSMENT
The FAA Award in First Aid at Work and the FAA Award in Paediatric First Aid include a written assessment. Qualification assessment must cover all assessment criteria with some being more suited to written assessment than practical demonstration.
The written assessments are now predominantly multiple choice questions.
Learners must never mark their own or another learner’s assessment and grey boxes are provided for the trainer/assessor to mark and score the written assessment.
FAA MARKING GUIDE
The FAA Marking Guide is a new document and gives as relevant:
- Additional protocol to be followed for the practical assessment
- Answer guidance for the related oral questions
- Answers to the written assessment
- The maximum time allowed for completion of a written assessment
- The pass mark
All centres and trainer/assessors must fully adhere to FAA assessment/marking guidance confirmed by Centre Assessment Standards Scrutiny (CASS).
FAA CLASSROOM COURSE, PAPERWORK, AND ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE
This is a new document giving comprehensive information for a trainer/assessor about important aspects of course delivery and assessment including guidance about conducting and marking assessments and course paperwork completion. The guidance also includes information about learner ID checks, conflict of interest and reasonable adjustment etc.
Centres and trainer/assessors must refer to this guidance in conjunction with the relevant FAA Marking Guide, FAA Session Plan, and FAA Practical Assessment Record as relevant.
The FAA Classroom Course, Paperwork, and Assessment Guidance can be found on NucoPlus and accessed by links provided on FAA documentation.
This guidance and the FAA Marking Guide replace the current FAA Trainer/Assessor Assessment Guidance and the FAA Course and Paperwork Guidance.
FAA SESSION PLANS AND FAA QUALIFICATION SPECIFICATIONS
The FAA Session Plans and FAA Qualification Specifications for these qualifications have been amended and can be downloaded from NucoPlus.
The training notes and PowerPoint presentations have been updated accordingly and are also available to download on NucoPlus.
DEMONSTRATION OF THE USE OF A ‘TRAINING DEVICE’ ADRENALINE AUTO-INJECTOR
The basic resources required for completion of the scenarios are detailed on the FAA Practical Assessment Record.
Learners are now required to practically demonstrate the correct use of a training auto-injector, commonly known as an EpiPen, during the assessments for the FAA Award in First Aid at Work as well as the FAA Award in Paediatric First Aid. Training providers will be required to have at least one training auto-injector available on these courses for completion of the assessment.
Please note that in no circumstance is the use of a ‘live’ auto-injector permitted for use in a training environment.
EpiPen branded training auto-injectors are available free of charge to training providers on the EpiPen website: EpiPen® Training Pen | EpiPen®
Jext branded training auto-injectors are available free of charge to training providers on the Jext website: Order Trainer Pen (jext.co.uk)
FAA recommends that training providers who require a training auto-injector for their courses order a free unit as soon as possible to ensure they have the resources required to complete the assessments.
NEW PAPERWORK AND ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTATION
FAA introduced brand new paperwork and assessment documentation for this qualification in August 2022.
You must ensure that the latest version of the paperwork is used and this can be found in the downloadable resources section of NucoPlus.
View the new guidance which all trainer/assessors must read in full prior to use of the new course paperwork.
If you have any questions at all then please so not hesitate to get in touch.