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First Aid Requirements for Outdoor Instructors

If you work in the Outdoors as a guide, leader or instructor you will need to hold a valid first aid certificate to keep your other professional qualifications valid. Most professional organisations and awarding bodies, like Mountain Training, BASI and British Cycling publish the first aid requirements for each of their awards and are listed in this article.

The ITC 16hr Level 3 Award in Outdoor First Aid is our most popular Outdoor First Aid training course for people holding the most common UK Outdoor qualifications: Mountain Training Awards like ML, Winter ML, BMG, BASI and British Cycling and MIAS mountain bike instructors.

React First review these requirements regularly to ensure that our most popular 16 hr (2 day) Outdoor First Aid training qualification continues to meet the necessary requirements.

The 2 day (16hr) Level 3 Award in Outdoor First Aid currently (last reviewed in January 2020) meets the first aid requirements for:

  • All Mountain Training awards: 
    • Lowland Leader
    • Hill and Moorland Leader
    • Mountain Leader - ML
    • Winter Mountain Leader - WML
    • Rock Climbing Instructor
    • Climbing Wall Instructor (an 8hr, 1 day course is acceptable for this award too)
    • Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor
    • Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor
    • International Mountain Leader
  • BASI - Ski Instructors
  • BMG - British Mountain Guides
  • British Cycling - Mountain Bike Leader
  • MIAS Mountain Bike Leader Awards
  • Duke of Edinburgh Leaders / Volunteers / Teachers
  • British Canoeing - BC Coach Awards where 2 days of contact time is required e.g. BCU Coach Level 3,4, & 5, BC Coach Moderate Water & Advanced Water.
  • Forest School Leaders - if you already hold a Paediatric First Aid certificate then attending the ITC 2 day Level 3 Award in Outdoor First Aid will give you the Outdoor First Aid elements required for your Forest School Practitioner qualification. If you require both a Paediatric First Aid certificate and Outdoor First Aid training we recommend our 2 day (16hr) ITC Forest School First Aid with Paediatric Training.

Please contact us if you hold an award which is not mentioned in this article and would like to check which of our first aid courses meets your requirements. Send as much information as possible to help us with your enquiry.

Mountain Training - First Aid Requirements

"Mountain Training requires evidence of a first aid qualification at assessment for all our leader and instructor qualifications. Currently, across all of Mountain Training’s outdoor qualification schemes, the minimum requirement is that such a course must involve at least two full days or sixteen hours of instruction and include an element of assessment. For the indoor qualifications, the minimum requirement is at least one day or eight hours of instruction, including an element of assessment. A useful summary of outdoor first aid provisions can be found on the IOL website.

This means Mountain Training and our approved providers can only accept a first aid certificate from candidates who have physically attended and completed, the full duration of their first aid course. For this reason, Mountain Training and our approved providers currently cannot accept online or blended learning first aid certificates for any of our assessments. During 2018/19 we are carrying out a periodic review of our first aid requirements across all the qualification schemes.

Mountain Training believes that it is the responsibility of the award holder and/or their employers to comply with any national legislation, evaluate their likely role and the type of situations that they can reasonably expect to encounter and therefore to maintain current first aid training and qualifications as appropriate. For useful information on first aid see the Institute of Outdoor Learning guidance.

For all schemes except the Climbing Wall Instructor and Climbing Wall Development Instructor:

You must have physically attended and completed (i.e. not online) a first aid course which involved at least two full days or sixteen hours of instruction and included an element of assessment.

For Climbing Wall Instructor and Climbing Wall Development Instructor:

You must have physically attended and completed (i.e. not online) a first aid course which involved at least one full day or eight hours of instruction and included an element of assessment."

[Ref: https://www.mountain-training.org/help/faqs/first-aid- ]

British Association of Ski Instructors - BASI - First Aid Requirements

"In order to continue to receive a Licence to instruct, it is each member’s responsibility to ensure that he/she maintains a valid first aid certificate that is suitable for the country and snow sports school or slope where he/she works. Your First Aid Certificate expiry date is shown in your Member Area on the BASI web site. Members must update their first aid by this expiry date and in any event not more than 3 years after their date of attendance on their last first aid course. The course duration must be a minimum of 12 hours or two days.

It is recommended that any first aid course includes outdoor first aid scenarios that mirror the environmental hazards instructors may encounter in the course of their role but this is not compulsory.

NB: Any first aid course that is 6 hours or more in duration but less than 12 hours in duration, only updates the first aid requirement for 1 year."

Ref: [https://www.basi.org.uk/Documents/FirstAidPolicy.pdf]

British Cycling - Mountain Bike Leader - First Aid Requirements

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/coaching/article/20180208-coaching-static-content-First-Aid-requirements-0

British Canoeing First Aid Policy for Coaches and Leaders

ref: [Download British Canoeing First Aid Policy for Coaches and Leaders]

Forest School Practitioners - First Aid Requirements

The ITC Level 3 Award in Outdoor First Aid is a 16hr course which will meet the requirements of your Forest School Practitioners qualification. However if you work in an Early Years setting and need to hold a Paediatric First Aid qualification in order to meet Ofsted requirements then you should consider attending the ITC Forest School First Aid course with Paediatric Training which will give you two certificates to meet both the needs of Ofsted and also Forest School.

RYA - Minimum First Aid Requirements

"Course duration: 1 day with at least 6 hours instructional time.

Course outcomes:
1. Understand the role of a first aider in regard to:
i. The importance of preventing cross infection
ii. The need for recording and/or reporting incidents and accidents
iii. Assessing a scenario and circumstances to ensure they act safely, promptly and
effectively in an emergency
2. Can perform CPR to current protocols, and understand the differential for drowning.
3. Understand the importance of the recovery position and the need to modify it for small spaces.
4. Can administer first aid to those who are unconscious
5. Can identify types of external bleeding and control bleeding
6. Can use appropriate dressings, bandages and other first aid equipment available, including
improvised dressings and bandages.
7. Understand the term shock, recognise and treat it
8. Can recognise and understands the treatment for hypothermia following immersion and/or
exposure.
9. Recognise the signs of a reduced level of response, with particular reference to serious head
injuries.
10. Can administer suitable first aid for:
i. breathing difficulties ii. choking
iii. chest pain iv. seasickness
v. diabetic emergency vi. anaphylaxis
vii. hyperthermia viii. fractures
ix. seizures
x. burns, including scalds, chemical and electrical
xi. minor injuries including small cuts, grazes, bruises and small splinters
11. Can choose suitable first aid equipment"

[ref: https://www.rya.org.uk/training-support/Documents/TG24-17_First_aid_requirements_update.pdf]

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