Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action promotes First Aid workshop for non-teaching staff in schools - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, accompanied by the President of the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service, Rui Andrade, attended the launch of the First Aid workshop for non-teaching staff, which took place at the Francisco Ornelas da Câmara Basic Education School and Kindergarten in Praia da Vitória.

Alonso Miguel noted that "schools are places where students, teachers and support staff spend much of their time, and where accidents or emergencies can sometimes occur. Therefore, it is essential to invest in training the school community, providing them with the knowledge they need to respond immediately, preventing complications and avoiding more serious consequences."

The government official pointed out that "the focus on basic life support training and first aid falls within a coordinated strategy that the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service has been developing progressively, consistently and closely with schools" through Civil Protection Clubs, which are already present in all public schools in the Azores.

According to Alonso Miguel, "this is another important step in the 'Learning to Help' project, an initiative that has established itself as a benchmark in training the educational community in emergency and first aid matters."

"This is a project promoted by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, through the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service, which aims to provide students, teachers and non-teaching staff with the fundamental knowledge to respond effectively in emergencies," he continued. 

As part of this initiative, Alonso Miguel revealed that "for the second consecutive year, all 9th grade students in the Region received Basic Life Support training." He added that "137 sessions were held this year alone, covering 2,480 students, which means that, currently, about 5 thousand young Azoreans already have the skills to respond in critical moments, such as assisting in the event of cardiorespiratory arrest."

The Regional Secretary also mentioned that, regarding the teaching staff, "first aid training was provided to more than 80 teachers, with a module dedicated to Basic Life Support, between June and July, ensuring that teaching staff are also trained to respond in case of need. The courses are approved by the Regional Directorate for Education and Cultural Affairs, with the awarding of 0.5 credits to teachers."

At the opening session of the event, the Regional Secretary emphasised that "a new phase of the 'Learning to Help' project is now beginning, with the extension of training in this area to non-teaching staff, through a series of nine First Aid workshops to be held this year on five islands. They are expected to provide training to 300 professionals by September, responding to a need felt and requested by schools."

"This is a step that reinforces our commitment to close, preventive and educational civil protection," he said.

He concluded: “The school community is a priority for us. Students’ parents must know that, with this project, we are empowering their children, their teachers and teaching support staff to make our schools safer, thereby contributing to a better-prepared society.”