Students and teachers in all eligible secondary schools will now have access to life-saving equipment to use in an emergency thanks to the delivery of 5,435 defibrillators, backed by £19 million of government support.
This means that the government has met its commitment to ensure that all state-funded schools in England have access to this life-saving equipment by the end of the academic year.
Secondary schools were prioritised for deliveries due to the risk of cardiac arrest increasing with age but the roll out to all primary and special schools is well underway and is expected to be complete before the end of the summer term.
The government’s roll out follows campaigning from the Oliver King Foundation and its founder Mark King, who has been raising awareness about the need for defibrillators in schools since he tragically lost his son at the age of 12 to cardiac arrest while swimming at school. The government has continued to speak with Mark King and the Foundation throughout the roll out of the programme.
