Will the Cabinet Secretary confirm whether the Welsh Government views cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in schools as a mandatory part of the curriculum?
Within the Curriculum for Wales the teaching of lifesaving skills, including CPR, forms part of the statutory guidance within the Health and Well-being Area in considering the importance of safety and the health of others.
We continue to work closely with a range of key stakeholders and partners including Save a Life Cymru and the British Heart Foundation to support with the teaching of these skills, ensuring that schools have a range of professional learning and resources to support them.
In 2025 through the Restart a Heart Live campaign, ‘Save a Life Cymru’ supported learners and adults to take part in a national CPR learning event in schools, with the event scheduled to run again in September 2026.
Ensuring that all secondary schools in Wales have access to a Public Access Defibrillator has been a priority for NHS Wales and they have led the way through their Save a Life Cymru programme. Since 2023 every public secondary school in Wales has had a defibrillator on site or within 500 meters.