What the research says: In recent years several literature reviews and studies have been completed evaluating the effectiveness of first aid training for primary school aged children. This research covers a broad range of the current available literature on the benefits of first aid training and retention ability in primary school aged children. The combined findings highlight the potential for children to successfully learn and retain basic first aid skills while concluding that physical limitations may affect certain tasks such as CPR that require a minimal amount of bodyweight to be effective.

Fleischhackl et al. (2009) demonstrated that children as young as nine can effectively perform CPR and other life support tasks, though chest compression depth was influenced by physical factors such as BMI and height. Similarly, Tse et al. (2023) confirmed that first aid training improves children’s knowledge and skills, with limitations in performing adequate chest compressions due to age-related physical strength. Lenson & Mills (2016) found mixed results with first aid knowledge retention among European children aged 4-12 and pointed to a lack of robust evidence on optimal training methods. All the studies stress the importance of hands-on practice and call for more research on effective training techniques and children’s performance in real-life emergencies.

Based on the research currently available it is reasonable to conclude that primary school aged children are capable of performing CPR and key life support techniques with the caveat that achieving effective chest compressions, as in adults, requires a minimum size/weight component. It also reasonable to conclude that regular first aid training is effective in improving first aid competency in key life support tasks such as monitoring vital signs and AED deployment. How well that knowledge is retained is still debatable. However, Tse et al. (2023, p. 5) conclude that “trained children have significantly better knowledge and skills than those before or without training” supporting the case for first aid training in primary aged children.