Skills for Life: Basic First Aid
Basic first aid (Unit SfL 2) is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Life Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2. Learners identify hazards, treat minor injuries, place a casualty in the recovery position, call for help and, from Entry 2, start CPR, with AED use at Level 1 and Level 2, mostly shown in simulated incidents. Centres set and mark the assessment, Pearson verifies it, and the unit is passed once at one level. Digital demand is low: the digital links are following a training AED's voice prompts, checking current CPR guidance online and acknowledging sources and AI.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): One assessment criterion at each of Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3: learners state (Entry 1), outline (Entry 2) or identify (Entry 3) and demonstrate the use of simple or basic first aid resources and procedures, including the recovery position at every level and starting CPR from Entry 2, usually in a simulated incident. The centre chooses the evidence, sets and marks the assessment, and Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail at the level achieved.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: learners describe and demonstrate (Level 1) or explain and demonstrate (Level 2) the first aider's role, situations, procedures and resources, including treating bleeding or burns, the recovery position, calling the emergency services, CPR and the use of an AED. The centre chooses the evidence, sets and marks the assessment over a number of sessions, and Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail at the level achieved.
The digital skills in this qualification
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Following a training AED's voice prompts
Entry 3 learners request an AED when calling for help, Level 1 learners know they would follow the voice prompts given by the training AED unit to support CPR, and Level 2 learners describe how an AED would be used. Learners follow a set sequence of steps from the device and the resuscitation procedure, where the order of each step matters. This is in the Level 1 and Level 2 essential information; Annexe C names using AED prompts as the digital link.
DCF: Problem-solving and modelling, Health and well-being
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils put cards showing the steps of a simple emergency routine in order and explain what would go wrong if two steps were swapped.
- Year 8
- Pupils watch a training AED demonstration video and turn its voice prompts into a numbered flowchart.
- Year 9
- Pupils discuss how public access defibrillators that talk users through each step help untrained bystanders, and list one limitation of relying on the device.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 2, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2, page 18; Annexe C, page 160
“know that they would follow the voice prompts given by the training AED unit to support the CPR process”
Progression step 3
I can understand the importance of the order of statements within algorithms.
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
Progression step 4
I can identify the different parts of an algorithm to determine their purpose.
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Checking current CPR guidance online
Entry 3 learners follow current CPR protocols, Annexe C names accessing online CPR guidelines as a digital link, and Annexe E points to Resuscitation Council UK guidelines for the Welsh context. Learners at every level benefit from checking that the guidance they use is current and from a trusted source. This is taught, not assessed; no criterion asks learners to find guidance online.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils compare two short first aid web pages, one from the NHS and one from an unknown blog, and decide which they would trust and why.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for how to treat a minor burn, check the author and date of three results, and choose the most reliable.
- Year 9
- Pupils check a classmate's first aid poster against current Resuscitation Council UK guidance online and suggest corrections, linking to the source.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 2, Levels of supervision and support, page 19; Annexe C, page 160; Annexe E, page 170
“They can demonstrate increasing independence by following current CPR protocols.”
Progression step 3
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
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Acknowledging sources and AI use in first aid evidence
Learners must certify that their evidence is their own and reference any sources and AI they used, and using AI without acknowledging it is malpractice. This matters whenever learners use online first aid guidance or AI tools for written descriptions and explanations, especially at Level 1 and Level 2. It is an assessment rule rather than an assessment criterion.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write the source under each fact on a first aid fact sheet, such as the website name and page title.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss why copying a first aid leaflet word for word and handing it in would be plagiarism, then rewrite one section in their own words.
- Year 9
- Pupils write an explanation of the recovery position, list the sources used, and add a note saying whether and how they used any AI tool.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfL 2, Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 19
“If learners use AI tools, they must acknowledge them clearly.”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
I can understand copyright and can explain the legal and ethical dimensions of respecting creative work, e.g. exploring the ethical and legal ramifications of piracy and plagiarism and know that they are irresponsible and disrespectful, and I can apply my understanding of the rules and regulations to different scenarios.
Good to know
- Basic first aid is Unit SfL 2 with 20 "Unit GLH" (Unit summary, page 5), and the qualification numbers run from C00/5443/4 to C00/5445/0 (Qualification titles, pages 3 and 4).
- It is not a workplace first aid certificate: "Completing this unit does not replace a formal licence to practise First Aid Qualification such as Pearson Level 3 Emergency First Aid or Level 3 First Aid at Work" (Unit SfL 2, page 16).
- Practical equipment is implied: the Level 1 guidance says learners "follow the voice prompts given by the training AED unit" (page 18), and CPR is demonstrated from Entry 2, although "the centre can decide the resource requirements" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 19).
- Practical work must be evidenced: "achievement cannot be inferred from performance" (Assessment requirements, page 9), so record demonstrations with observation records or similar, although "there are no mandatory evidence requirements" for this unit (page 17).
- A unit counts once only: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6), and "Units and qualifications are graded Pass/Fail" (page 7).
- AI tools must be acknowledged: "A learner will have committed malpractice if they use AI tools without acknowledging them" (page 19).
- The teaching content is in a separate document: "This can be found in the Teaching and Learning Support document for this unit" (Unit content, page 17).
- The essential information contains typing errors, for example "show how to put clean a small cut" and "be able to be able to choose" (Entry 2, page 17), and the specification refers to "Section 6 Glossary" although the glossary is Section 7 (page 11).
Links with other qualifications
Basic first aid sits well beside GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare, the VCSEs in Public Services and Sport and Leisure, and the Foundations in Health and Social Care, and Childcare, Public Services and Sport and Leisure, and Annexe E points to careers in health, social care and the emergency services. Its digital work is light compared with GCSE Digital Technology. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Personal Safety, Looking After Others and Mental Health and Wellbeing are natural partners. Compared with the WJEC Basic first aid unit, also 20 hours and organised into four learning outcomes, Pearson's version has one criterion per level and its essential information sets out specific procedures, the recovery position at every level, starting CPR from Entry 2 and AED use at Level 1 and Level 2, and Pearson states plainly that the unit does not replace a formal first aid qualification.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfL 2: Basic first aid.