ASB St John reaches a major milestone
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St John educators in Wellington trained the 500,000th ASB St John in Schools participant at St Patrick’s Primary School in Kilbirnie on May 1, 2019.
Through this Programme, which is sponsored by ACC and ASB, St John has been training young New Zealanders in first aid, CPR, bandaging, responding to emergencies, injury prevention and disaster preparedness since 2015. The Programme is also available in Te Reo for all Kura and Kohanga Reo.
Building resilience
St John Director of Community Health Services Sarah Manley said that ASB St John in Schools is aimed at equipping children with the skills and confidence to take action in an emergency situation.
“We are committed to building resilient and connected communities and recognise that children of all ages can play a significant part in improving the health and wellbeing of their communities.
“St John receives over fifty 111 emergency calls from children every month, often calling in highly distressing situations for a parent or loved one who has fallen, is unconscious, or is having convulsions. We believe every child in New Zealand should learn first aid, so they have the courage and ability to respond in these circumstances and ultimately save a life; in fact, we know that through this Programme, children have saved lives,” she said.
Amazing Milestone
ASB has sponsored the Programme since September 2016.
Head of Community and Sponsorship, Mark Graham described it as an ‘amazing milestone.”
“We have heard a number of stories from young New Zealanders who have gone through this Programme and then used these skills in an emergency situation, so we know how valuable it can be. We believe that basic first aid skills are something every New Zealander should know, and teaching kids this from an early age sets them up to be able to take action in an emergency,” he said.
The ASB St John in Schools Programme was developed by St John in partnership with ACC, Safekids, Civil Defence and other external partners.
It is delivered in modules with each school choosing the units it wishes to complete.
‘Wonderful Example’
ACC Head of Injury Prevention Isaac Carlson said, “This Programme is a wonderful example of our community partnerships. Knowing how to prevent injuries is a lifelong skill and now half a million Kiwi kids know how to keep themselves and others safe.”
The milestone was marked with a celebration at St Patrick’s Primary School, which involved a CPR challenge and a first aid quiz between adults and students.
Every participant of the Programme was gifted with a first aid kit from ASB and the 500,000th participant was presented with a certificate.
St John’s Target
St John has a goal of delivering the ASB St John in Schools Programme to a total of one million New Zealand students (pre-school through to intermediate) by 2023.
It is also continuing to push for the teaching of CPR and lifesaving first aid skills to be made compulsory under the national school curriculum. In the future, St John plans to pilot mental health first aid modules for young people in schools.
For more information, please visit www.stjohn.org.nz/schools.
About ASB St John In Schools Programme
The ASB St John in Schools Programme provides pre-school and school-aged children with the skills and confidence to take action in response to an emergency situation.
St John Community Educators teach young people first aid basics and knowledge to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, along with those around them.
St John tutors teach different skills to different age groups offering four modules: Responding in an Emergency, Injury Prevention, Disaster Preparedness and Camping.
St John Community Educators have taught in Maori and Samoan immersion classes.
Short educational videos for assisting in learning have been developed.
With support from ACC, the common goal is to deliver to a total of one million New Zealand students (pre-school through to intermediate) by 2023.
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Photo Caption:
In April 2018, Billy Vincent called St John Ambulance and saved his mother’s life and received the ‘ASB Super Bravery Award.’ (Picture from Facebook)
