Skills for Life: Basic First Aid
Basic First Aid is one of 30 Skills for Life units in Agored Cymru's Skills Suite, offered at Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2, each a separate 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners carry out a primary survey, respond to an unresponsive casualty, call for help, treat wounds, nosebleeds and burns and, at Level 1 and Level 2, recognise the signs of acute illnesses, with the practical work shown in recorded role play. Literacy demand is medium: learners use first aid vocabulary such as anaphylaxis and hypoglycaemia, give clear information when calling 999 or handing over to helpers, and list, outline or describe checks, procedures and treatments, with written description rising to Level 2. Numeracy demand is low: learners put steps in the right order, and the unit's map mentions timing and estimation, but no criterion asks for a calculation or a measurement.
- Awarding body
- Agored Cymru
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Three learning outcomes at each Entry level: know the steps to providing first aid, be able to respond when an individual is unresponsive, and be able to respond to injuries. Entry 1 (Unit ID CDR883, Unit Code PV3E1CY002) learners identify situations such as cuts, grazes, burns and scalds, list ways to get help, indicate how to help place someone in the recovery position, give an example of what to tell those helping, and demonstrate washing hands, helping to apply a dressing and helping someone with a nosebleed. Entry 2 (CDR882, PV3E2CY002) learners also list the checks before giving first aid, including environment, airway, breathing, circulation and consent, indicate how to call 999, and demonstrate the recovery position, applying a dressing and helping with a nose bleed. Entry 3 (CDR881, PV3E3CY002) learners give examples of when first aid is needed, outline checks including medication, outline how to respond to an unresponsive person according to current accepted guidelines, and demonstrate the recovery position, calling for help, hygienic dressing of a wound and treating minor burns. At every Entry level the prescribed method is role play recorded on video and/or annotated photographs with an assessor observation statement for LO2 and LO3. The centre devises the task within Agored Cymru's mandatory Summative Assessment Package, marks it internally, and Agored Cymru moderates it. 20 guided learning hours and 2 credits at each level, graded Pass or Fail.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes at each level: the primary survey, responding when an individual is unresponsive, responding to external bleeding and wounds, and the signs of acute illnesses. Level 1 (Unit ID CDR880, Unit Code PV31CY003) learners outline the six steps of a primary survey, demonstrate checks on an unresponsive casualty, the recovery position, controlling bleeding including nosebleeds and applying wound dressings, outline the treatment of burns and how to respond to head injuries, and outline the signs of 6 acute illnesses from an asthma attack to a cardiac arrest. Level 2 (CDR879, PV32CY001) learners describe the six steps, demonstrate the checks and recovery position including when an individual is unconscious or having a seizure, describe precautions with wounds, demonstrate controlling a nosebleed and applying and checking dressings, describe treating grazes, minor cuts, bruises and minor burns, and describe the signs of 8 acute illnesses, including mild and severe choking in adults. The prescribed method is role play recorded on video and/or annotated photographs with an assessor observation statement, for LO2 and LO3 at Level 1 and for LO2 and AC 3.2 and 3.4 at Level 2. The centre devises the task within the mandatory Summative Assessment Package, marks it internally, and Agored Cymru moderates it. 20 guided learning hours and 2 credits at each level, graded Pass or Fail.
Skills that use Connectives and syntax
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Listing, outlining and describing procedures and treatments
Entry 2 learners list the checks before giving first aid, Entry 3 and Level 1 learners outline checks, precautions and the treatment of burns and head injuries, and Level 2 learners describe the six steps of a primary survey, precautions with wounds, the treatment of minor burns and the signs of acute illnesses. Agored defines describe as giving an account that sets out the steps of a process in a logical way. These are knowledge criteria, so learners can show them in writing or speech, and they are assessed.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Connectives and syntax
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write a numbered list of the checks to make before helping someone who has fallen over in the playground.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a short outline of how to treat a minor burn, with the steps in order and the connectives first, then and finally.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a description of the six steps of a primary survey, giving a reason for each step and linking the steps with time connectives.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Basic First Aid, Entry 2 AC 1.2, page 24; Entry 3 AC 1.2, page 22; Level 1 AC 3.1, 3.4 and 3.5, pages 20 and 21; Level 2 AC 1.1, 3.1, 3.5 and 4.1, pages 17 and 18; Command Word Definitions, page 93
“give the steps for a process”
Progression step 3
I can write a comprehensive account of a topic, theme or viewpoint.
I can use an increasing range of connectives to organise my ideas in sentences, paragraphs and whole texts.
Progression step 4
I can adapt my writing style, choosing and using the best structures for different contexts and purposes, e.g. to successfully describe, explain, persuade, discuss.
I can organise and construct my writing effectively, connecting and developing my ideas for a range of different contexts.
I can use a range of connectives specifically when organising my ideas in whole texts for different purposes.
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Comparing treatments and giving dos and don'ts
Level 2 learners describe the treatment for grazes, minor cuts and bruises, setting out the similarities and differences between the three, and learners at Entry 3 to Level 2 give the dos and don'ts of treating burns, with head injuries added at Level 1. Comparing and contrasting needs clear sentence structures and connectives such as whereas and both. This is assessed through the amplification for these criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Connectives and syntax
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort cards into dos and don'ts for treating a minor burn and explain one choice to the class.
- Year 8
- Pupils complete a table comparing how a graze and a bruise are treated, then write 2 sentences using whereas and both.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a short comparison of treating a graze, a minor cut and a bruise, with a paragraph on what is the same and one on what is different.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Basic First Aid, Level 2 AC 3.3 and 3.5, page 18; Level 1 AC 3.4 and 3.5, page 21; Entry 3 AC 3.2, page 23
“What are the similarities and differences for how these three would be treated.”
Progression step 3
I can use and adapt different structures within my writing, e.g. reporting an event, investigation or experiment.
I can use simple, compound and complex sentence structures for emphasis and effect.
Progression step 4
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
I can select and use a variety of different sentence structures (simple, compound and complex sentences) with grammatical accuracy in my writing.
Good to know
- Each level is a separate 20 GLH unit with its own Unit ID, from CDR879 at Level 2 to CDR883 at Entry 1 (Basic First Aid, pages 17, 20, 22, 24 and 26), and "multiple levels of the same unit title are not permitted" (Unit aggregation, page 9).
- The command words set the writing level: "Outline" means to "Give the main characteristics or key points/features", while "Describe" asks learners to "give the steps for a process" (Command Word Definitions, page 93).
- Much of the communication is spoken and practical: "Role-play - video and/or annotated photographic evidence with assessor observation" is prescribed for the practical criteria (pages 18, 21, 23, 25 and 27), and Entry 2 learners must "Provide your location" when calling 999 (page 25).
- Learners must prepare notes themselves: "Learners must produce their own reference materials" and "AI tools must not be used at all." (Appendix A, page 106).
- There is no second chance to improve writing: "Drafting and redrafting are not permitted in this summative task." and "Feedback on learner work must not be provided once the summative task has started." (Appendix A, page 106), and "There are no resubmission opportunities available for these qualifications." (page 99).
- Assessment time is short: "20 GLH incorporates assessment time of no more than 60 minutes." (Appendix A, page 106), and learners may complete it in more than one sitting (page 97).
- Learners need basic literacy to start: they are expected to study through the medium of Welsh or English and "have basic literacy, digital and numeracy" skills (Restrictions on Learner Entry, page 7).
- The unit's map claims more numeracy than the criteria ask for: it "Develops accuracy in measuring dosages, timing and vital" signs (page 29), but no criterion at any level mentions dosages, timing or vital signs.
- The map's bullet "Supports reading and following first aid procedures and guidelines" runs over the page break from the Literacy row and sits above the Numeracy label, so it is unclear which framework it belongs to (page 29).
Links with other qualifications
Agored Cymru places Basic First Aid in the Health and Well-being Area of Learning and Experience and maps it to Literacy for clear communication when reporting incidents and accurate medical and safety vocabulary, and to Relationships and Sexuality Education for consent and respectful contact. The describing, explaining and emergency communication sit well beside GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare, the VCSEs in Public Services and Sport and Leisure, and the matching Foundations, and clear speaking and listening in role play build on GCSE English Language and Literature. Within the Skills Suite, Personal Safety, Looking After Others and Mental Health and Wellbeing are natural partners. Compared with the WJEC Basic first aid unit, which builds a portfolio around four learning outcomes and stresses reassuring a casualty and a mock 999 call, and the Pearson unit, which sets out the facts to give on an emergency call at each level, Agored's version has more knowledge criteria, so learners at Level 1 and Level 2 outline or describe treatments and the signs of 6 or 8 acute illnesses, and its Entry 2 criteria spell out what to say on a 999 call.
Source: Agored Cymru The Skills Suite: Skills for Life and Work Specification, version 1.0, October 2026, Basic First Aid.