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Skills for Life

Support Programme
April 2010

Wider Family Learning Toolkit

Toolkit to support planning and delivery of Wider


Family Learning (WFL) including the WFL strand 5
of Family Learning Impact Funding (FLIF) 2009/10

Purpose

The toolkit is designed to support planning and delivery of WFL to families at risk,
fathers and male carers in particular. It builds on the FLIF WFL guidance produced
to support the programme in 2008/09 available at
http://skillsforfamilies.excellencegateway.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl
e&id=89&Itemid=101

It is relevant to tutors, teachers, managers and partners who wish to extend good
practice in WFL provided either through FLIF funding or main family learning
budgets. It can be used for monitoring as part of continuous improvement and as
part of the planning process with partners.

Information is included on:

• Requirements of the WFL and FLIF programmes

• Contribution of WFL to the outcomes of Every Child Matters


• Contribution of WFL to Public Service Agreements (PSA) areas and national
indicators (NIs)
• Assessment on Wider Family Learning courses with families at risk

• Successful practice in providing WFL for families at risk, fathers and male
carers

• Progression

• Accreditation

Background

WFL has been shown to be a powerful tool for engaging families in learning,
boosting children’s achievement while improving skills and engaging mothers,
fathers and carers in further learning.
http://www.niace.org.uk/development-research/impact-of-wider-family-learning

The Skills for Life Support Programme CfBT Education Trust T: 0118 902 1920
is delivered on behalf of the Learning 60 Queens Road F: 0845 838 1207
and Skills Improvement Service by Reading E: sflenquiries@cfbt.com
CfBT Education Trust and partners RG1 4BS W: www.excellencegateway.org.uk/sflsp
Skills for Life Support Programme

The Family Learning Impact Funding Programme has been designed to meet
government priorities by:

• Involving hard to reach parents more actively in their children’s learning and
schools (Improving Parental Engagement)
• Encouraging learning in the home (Improving Parental Engagement)
• Children and families deserving services work together for them and meet
individual needs (The Children’s Plan: One Year On)
• Tailoring learning and provision to the needs of families (Think Family)
• Improving information and support to families (Family Information Direct)
• Engaging fathers and boys, informal learning for disadvantaged families (The
Learning Revolution)
• Giving skills and confidence to manage money (Financial Capability)
• Providing adults with chances to achieve and progress (World Class Skills)
• Giving everyone a chance to change their lives (Skills for Life: Changing
Lives)

The FLIF Wider Family Learning programme (strand 5) offers courses of 20 hours
linked directly to the five outcomes of Every Child Matters (be healthy, stay safe,
enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, achieve economic wellbeing)
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/about/aims/aims/

More details, including funding allocation per course are set out in Part 2: Family
Learning Impact Funding of the LSC Family Programmes guidance 2009/10
http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/National/nat-FLIF_guidance_200910_Final-gn-
april2009-v1-1.pdf

Courses are expected to target families at risk and dads and male carers and:

• Include adult assessment

• Use individual learning plans

• Provide opportunities to work towards a qualification, if appropriate to the


individual learner

• Provide advice and support for progression

• Provide a skills check for Skills for Life needs as appropriate to individual
learners

More details, including full guidelines on target groups, monitoring progress


using RARPA, example schemes of work, resources, links to Every Child Matters
and briefing papers on community cohesion, arts and culture, sustainable
development and health and well-being are available in Guidance for Wider Family
Learning:
http://skillsforfamilies.excellencegateway.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=articl
e&id=89&Itemid=101

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How can Wider Family Learning contribute to the outcomes of Every Child
Matters and act as a stepping stone for further learning within the family?
Wider Family Learning courses can cut across all the outcomes of Every Child
Matters. They are often the first step for parents/carers starting or coming back to
learning as an adult. This provides a role model for children and demonstrates that
learning can be enjoyable and is not confined to school and formal settings outside
the home.

Research and evaluations from Family Learning courses show that children’s
attainment is raised by parental involvement in learning (Enjoy and Achieve.) Family
Learning helps children build positive relationships with adults and gain in
confidence (Making a Positive Contribution.) The building of self-confidence is
central to all family programme (Enjoy and Achieve). Adults with literacy, language
or numeracy needs often progress from Wider Family Learning to a Family Literacy,
Language and Numeracy or Skills for Life course (Achieve economic well-being).
Example:

FLIF Wider Family Learning 20 hour ECM Outcome


course
Basic family cookery for Healthy Eating Be healthy
Make a positive contribution
Enjoy and achieve

È
Family Literacy, Language and ECM outcome
Numeracy Keeping up with the
Children
Sharing and making books relating to Enjoy and achieve
food e.g. Lighthouse Keepers Lunch, Be healthy
The Enormous Turnip including following Make a positive contribution
instructions to make the food

È
FLIF Family Financial Capability ECM Outcome
Budgeting Achieve economic well-being
Handling money Enjoy and achieve
Everyday calculations Make a positive contribution
Family attitudes to money
Leading to national Adult Numeracy
qualification

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Skills for Life Support Programme

Case Study - ECM focus: be healthy, enjoy and achieve

West Sussex Local Authority


Course: Wider family learning 20 hours –Venue: Ford Open Prison, Sussex

Ford Open Prison caters for a wide range of male prisoners some of whom are
coming to the end of long or life sentences.
It has a purpose built education centre and family room where children can play
during family visits. However the family visits are strictly supervised. Families sit at
either side of a table with no physical contact between the prisoner and his family.
The prison runs a LADS – “Learning with Absent Dads” course but up until the FLIF
course, there was no provision which brought families together to learn in an
informal, interactive way.

Ruth James, Curriculum Improvement Manager (Family Learning) for West Sussex
started negotiating with the prison authorities in October 2008 through a lead tutor A.
who worked in the prison education centre as a Skills for Life tutor and who had
previously worked in ACL and FL for West Sussex. A’s role in negotiating the
security side of the project with the prison authorities was vital.

The prison decided to target men who were already taking part in the education
programme because it was felt that they would be more committed. They also
insisted that the main tutors for the course were already security cleared and
teaching at the prison. Ruth planned the course with A.. and tutor B, a male IT tutor
and she attended all the sessions. The negotiations and planning for the course took
seven months.

The venue for the course was the prison chapel with adjoining small side room,
kitchen and toilet. It was a more relaxed and better equipped space than the
education centre. The prison chaplain took a keen and friendly interest and
attended all the sessions.

The three sessions took place all day Saturdays at intervals of a month (slippage for
session 2) in February, April and May. The interval was stipulated by the prison
authorities and did mean that some participants changed as they were moved on or
had other commitments on the day. In total, 13 men attended (1 for 20 hours, 4 for
13 hours and 8 for 6.5 hours), 14 wives and partners (one man had his ex-wife and
his current partner) and 23 children.

The project focused on health and well-being – session one healthy eating, session
two exercise, session three listening skills. For each session, the men came to the
chapel between 10 and 12 noon for input on the day’s theme. Following roll call at
lunch time, the men were joined by their families at 1.00 and the next half hour was
an informal time for the families together. The outline of the afternoon session was
then explained to the families and they undertook a variety of different activities set
up in the main chapel in the day’s theme. Families selected the activities they
wanted to do. There were also home activities from each session. IT was included
in each session, for example, by taking photos of the families together which the
learners then captioned using computers. The dads and families then had the
photos to display in their billet (cell) or take home. This aspect of the course was

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very important to the families. The afternoon ended with a plenary and a further
fifteen minutes for the families to say good bye uninterrupted.

Once the families had left, the men helped to clear away the activities and this was a
very useful time for the tutors to talk informally to the learners and support their
reflection on learning and ideas for the future. All the men were very positive about
the experience and wanted to carry on with activities with their children. The wives
and partners too reported that they had new ideas of things to do with the children
on the course themes.

The prison education team were particularly pleased that the sessions were informal
learning not directed at accreditation. They felt that the men had enough formal
accredited learning available to them and this was viewed very much as
“compulsory” . The family sessions encouraged self-motivation to learn.
As a result of the FLIF course, the prison authorities are now looking at re-organising
the family visiting time to give opportunities for physical contact and a more informal
atmosphere.

Family Learning is planning to continue working at the prison and is considering


funding a similar course through main FL WFL budget and developing a family
financial course through FLIF in 09/10.

How can family learning contribute to Public Service Agreements (PSA) areas
and national indicators (NIs)?

Outcomes from family learning contribute to all four categories of PSA:

• sustaining growth and prosperity;


• fairness and opportunity for all;
• stronger communities and better quality of life;
• a more secure, fair and environmentally sustainable world.

Furthermore, outcomes link directly in to the national indicator set.

Example:

Duty to promote sustainability: from September 2009, schools have the duty to
promote sustainability. The Sustainable Development Action Plan
(http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/aboutus/sd/docs/SustainableDevActionPlan_2008.pdf)
maps sustainable development objectives to PSA targets, departmental strategic
objectives under the Children’s Plan and Securing the Future objectives. Relevant
PSAs include:

• PSA 27 (lead the global effort to avoid dangerous climate change)


• PSA 28 (secure a healthy natural environment for today and the future)
• PSA 11 (narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from
low income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers)
• PSA 12 (improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people);

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All local authorities are required to publish their priority national indicators for Local
Area Agreements. FLIF activities can also contribute to a range of national indicators
and local priorities, for example, in the areas of improving adult skills, raising
achievement, addressing disadvantage and community cohesion.

For case studies on the contribution of wider family learning to PSA targets visit:
http://www.niace.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Providing-the-
Evidence.pdf

Assessment on Wider Family Learning courses with families at risk


As in all learning, learner assessment needs to reflect the aims and outcomes of the
course.

Wider Family Learning funded through the Learning and Skills Council, including
FLIF has the following generic aims:

• to develop the skills or knowledge of both the adult and child participants ;
and
• to help parents/carers to be more active in the support of their children’s
learning and development and to understand the impact of that support.

Where the family learning course is attached to a particular topic, there will also be
outcomes relating to skills and knowledge within the topic e.g.

• family healthy eating – knowledge of healthy foods, skills to cook quick


nutritious meals
• family gardening – knowledge of different plants, skills to cultivate

Family learning courses also provide opportunities for a range of generic outcomes
such as developing a sense of inclusion, developing decision making skills,
developing self-motivation. Family Learning also contains elements of parenting e.g.
child behaviour management, relationship building and raising aspirations within the
whole family.

A full guide to identifying and planning for generic outcomes for progression in family
learning is available at:
http://www.niace.org.uk/development-research/families-learning-and-progression

Initial assessment

In order to support the best learning experience for the adult and child, initial
assessment needs to include:

• learning styles
• prior educational experience
• prior knowledge and experience of the topic area drawing on home culture
and experience

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• encouragement of the learner to identify her/his own needs


• skills checks for literacy and/or numeracy and/or language skills as
appropriate to the individual learner to establish appropriate level of
instruction and activities.
• identification of additional support needed

For more details on assessment for FLIF WFL see Guidance on Wider Family
Learning on
http://skillsforfamilies.excellencegateway.org.uk/images/stories/pdfs/wider_family_le
arning/wider_family_learning_guidance_document.pdf

Ideas for assessment

Assessment when working with families at risk can seem daunting. The issues
affecting learners in their everyday lives and their prior experiences of learning can
make them sensitive and defensive about answering personal questions.

Partners on FLIF courses will often have knowledge of the learners, within the
bounds of respecting confidentiality, which will contribute to the assessment
process.

Top tips for assessment with families at risk

Practitioners have developed the following list of top tips for assessment with
families at risk:

• be flexible
• keep activities short, interactive and fun
• use a mix of self and tutor assessment
• start from a positive point: “What do you know already about….?” “What can
you already do?” not “What can’t you do…?”
• be sensitive to individual learner needs
• ensure a safe and unthreatening environment
• ensure materials and activities respect and value different cultures and
religions
• allow for plenty of breaks and opportunities for time out if learners need it
• Keep language accessible
• Be clear about what you are assessing
• Talk through the topic for an initial oral reaction
• Keep more formal assessment for later, e.g Skills Checks
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/toolslibrary

(thanks to North Yorkshire County Council Family Learning teams)

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Ideas for assessment activities

Most of the following ideas are appropriate for initial, formative or summative
assessment. Repeating the activity will show “distance-travelled” by the learner.

Cards (make sure you also have blank cards for the learners’ own ideas)

1. Pre-write cards showing different areas of skills and knowledge which the
course will cover
Learners build a tower with the cards which are most relevant to their needs
or sort and rank them to show their own competence in the area.

2. Write a number of SMART targets relevant to the course on a pre-prepared


sheet to make an origami box – one target on each sheet.
The learners choose and make up the box with the targets most relevant to
them and make a tower to rank the targets in order of importance

3. Stepping stones- Children and adults draw round their feet and cut out On
separate “feet”, learners write what they want to learn from the course and the
steps they need to reach their aim and arrange them as if crossing a river

Games and quizzes

1. Make a board game showing the skills and knowledge to be covered on the
course. Learners use a dice to play the game and say how confident they
feel in the area defined on the square on which they land.

2. What do I want to be when I grow up?


Learners in pairs play a matching game to collect cards with the skills needed
to do the job.
Once the skills cards are collected, learners sort out the four skills they feel
they need to work on and rank in order of importance to themselves.
Example jobs: teacher, fire officer, ambulance driver, police officer, dancer,
footballer, sales assistant)

Digital

Use mobile phone cameras to record activities in the session and at home to show
progression, including changed behaviours.

For a case study demonstrating the use of mini digital recorders, Disgos, personal
digital accessories, PDAs, and the electronic voting system Optivote with learners
for assessment and recording progress, go to:

http://skillsforfamilies.excellencegateway.org.uk/images/stories/pdfs/case_studies/case_stud
y_wfl_cornwall.pdf

For more examples of assessment materials for wider family learning go to:

http://skillsforfamilies.excellencegateway.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view
&id=89&Itemid=101

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Skills for Life Support Programme

What works in providing WFL for families at risk, fathers and male
carers?
• Develop a range of partnerships to support recruitment, give on-course
support or provide specialist curriculum knowledge. Partners can extend from
schools and children’s centres to voluntary organisations, museums, libraries,
health visitors, parent support advisors, family support workers and education
welfare teams.

• Find a venue where the families feel relaxed, safe and secure. This may not
be a school or formal setting where mothers, fathers or carers themselves
had negative experiences of school. Where possible the venue can be
negotiated with the learners so that they are involved in the choice. This
could include a venue in their “space” e.g. for traveller families on a traveller
site. Outside venues are popular particularly with dads and male carers.
Many museums, libraries and archives have space for family learning.

• Fix the programme at a time appropriate to the learners and negotiate it with
them where possible. A short time slot during the day over a number of
weeks is often not the best way to access learning for families whose
circumstances change frequently. Evenings, residential weekends, whole
days at weekends or in school holidays and staggered days or times have all
been successful, the latter in particular with non-resident dads on access
visits or those on shift work.

• Tailor courses to learner needs and interests including developing the


curriculum in partnership with the learners. This can include the type of
activities that will take place, thus ensuring that the learners select activities
that they find interesting and feel comfortable with and suit their learning
styles. Courses themed to traditionally male interests such as sport and
outdoor activities often appeal to dads and male carers. Draw in and include
activities already going on at home to bring in home culture and practices.

• Keep paperwork to a minimum and provide opportunities for a variety of


hands-on activities with “quick win” results.

• Devise recruitment strategies specific to the target learners. This includes


choosing appropriate language and images. Fathers and male carers
respond best to publicity aimed specifically at them and with a clear indication
of expectations and outcomes on the programme. Texting and using mobile
phones are alternative methods to face to face or paper publicity.

• Both for recruitment and retention on a programme, it is paramount to


develop trust with the families involved. This can be built up through working
with community and partner organisations or learning champions or mentors
who already have a relationship with the learners. There needs to be an
understanding with partners of the purpose and underlying structure of the
programme to ensure a common message reaches the learners.

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• To support retention, where appropriate provide incentives such as free gifts,


vouchers to an event or meal. Where the programme involves a visit out, the
learners can be involved in organising this. An end product from the course
encourages attendance where each learner feels he/she has a part in the
work e.g. a poster for display at school or library. Children often encourage
their mother, father or carer to attend, particularly where there is a home
activity which relies on the family attending the session every week.

Case Study - innovative course planning and delivery

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council


WFL course “Keep Safe” 20 hours at different school venues

The course was offered to Year 6 children and their parents or carers in target
primary schools and 3 secondary schools. The primary schools were feeder schools
to the secondary schools involved. Publicity involved the printing and distribution of
3000 leaflets to the targeted schools.

The course took place over 3 days.

Day 1 - parents only. This took place in each of the schools involved to provide easy
access for the parents. The sessions took place at different times and were led by
the same tutor. Work included enrolment, induction, initial assessment and
discussion about the course and where locally they might find information about law
and order issues. They were asked to bring to the next session reports from local
newspapers about crime/anti social behaviour.

Day 2 – parents and children together at a secondary school during ½ term week.
All learners were offered free transport and a crèche was provided. There were
refreshments throughout the day. A variety of guest speakers including the Army,
Police, Victim Support, Witness Service, Youth Service, Probation and the Fire
Service provided information and activities about their particular service..

Day 3 – the following day - parents and children together at the same venue.

The guest speaker for the morning was a local magistrate. The afternoon was
organised as an IAG session and learners had the opportunity to speak to various
organisations about employment, training and learning opportunities. The course
ended with a celebration ceremony where the magistrate presented children and
parents with a certificate.

There were a variety of stands set up between the buffet and the main room with
information about progression activities.

The venue had accessible ICT facilities within the hall where ten tables were set up
to accommodate five learners per table and a family learning or skills for life tutor.
The tutor on each table was key to the learners being able to work through the
NOCN Law and Order portfolio.
http://www.ocnni.org.uk/files/Summary%20of%20NOCN%20Qualifications.pdf

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Twenty-three adults enrolled with twenty-one children (eight primary and thirteen
secondary). All the adults and fourteen year olds gained the Level 1NOCN
qualification.

During the IAG session, six learners enrolled onto Skills For Life courses and a
further four learners discussed next steps with the careers adviser.

Comments from partners involved:

Cath Davison – Victim Support and Witness Service Manager, Teeside

“I was extremely impressed at the enthusiasm of the families and children who
attended this course. They asked relevant questions and were keen to learn about
the role of Victim Support. It was a privilege to be part of such a well organised,
thoroughly enjoyable course.”

Wendy Starks - NE Learning & Skills Council

“The commitment and passion from staff at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council
was reflected in the many professionals willing to give up their time to contribute to
the success of the programme. There was real engagement and enthusiasm from
all participants.”

Progression

WFL courses are a powerful vehicle for progressing mothers, fathers and carers to
further learning, including family literacy, language and numeracy courses where
appropriate.

Celebrating Learner Success in Warrington Borough Council


Sue Baker Adult and Family Learning Coordinator reports:

“Learners are continuing to delight us with their progress and achievements.


Recently a number of our learners secured places in further learning/training or
employment. Here are a few examples:

A learner from one of our schools found a job in a local bakery after attending a
Family Learning Decorating Children’s Cakes course. She met the bakery owner to
make enquiries about the possibility of developing her cake decorating skills from a
professional point of view. The conversation lead to the learner showing the bakery
owner examples of her work including photographs of the work she had done. The
owner was sufficiently impressed to offer her a job.

A learner attending a Natural Soaps and Toiletries course at one of our Children’s
Centres also secured employment when she too took examples of the work she had
done with her into the local LUSH store.

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One learner attending our courses based in the Children’s Centre has secured a
place at John Moores University to follow her dream of becoming a midwife. This
has been a journey over a few years, starting in believing that she was “too thick” to
achieve anything (her own statement) and moving on to attend confidence building
courses, life skills and first aid. The learner was helped to build up her self
confidence and skills to complete the application and interview process”

The tracking of a sample of FLIF learners started in 2008/09 will continue for three
years. Tracking data so far is showing very positive results. Although providers are
not being asked to start tracking new learners from 2009/10 onwards, there is a case
for using the tracking system with additional learners as part of the quality monitoring
process.

For more details of the progression tool see: http://www.niace.org.uk/development-


research/families-learning-and-progression

Accreditation

The possibility of working towards a nationally recognized certificate can be an


incentive for some learners, whilst daunting to others. A range of accreditation is
being offered on FLIF WFL courses including First Aid, Football Coaching, DIY,
Food Hygiene and Law & Order.

The table below gives details of some of the accreditation being offered on WFL
courses by Local Authority providers in the London area. Where an award requires
a substantial number of hours over and above the course length, learners can
complete some units with an option to finish the full award at a later date.

Useful websites:

http://www.nocn.org.uk/Homepage a range of accreditation

http://www.ncfe.org.uk/ a range of accreditation

http://www.aqa.org.uk/qualifications.html a range of qualifications for 14 to 19 year olds

http://www.rya.org.uk/Pages/Home.aspx sailing

http://www.1st4sportqualifications.com/centre_information/centreinfo_our_qualifications/qual
ificationbin/L1CCF football coaching

Title of accreditation Level Awarding Length of


body course
Helping in School 2 OCN 20 hours
Supporting Children’s Early Literacy 2 OCN 72 hours
Certificate for IT Users (New Clait) L1 - OCR 20 hrs
Module
credit
Steps to Success Entry NOCN 30+
Level 1

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Skills for Life Support Programme

Help your Child with Reading and E/3 OCN 60 hours


Writing L1
L2
Practical ICT L1 OCN 30hrs
L2
Understanding the Use of Computers E3 & L1 NOCN 10 weeks
for Family Learning (Step-up) 20-30 hours
Entry level certificate in ICT E1-E3 NCFE 30hrs
ICT Skills for Life Entry 1 to OCR 5/ 6or 11
3 weeks
Building a personal career portfolio L1 - 2 OCN 30+hrs
Introduction to Food and Nutrition for E3 NOCN 10 weeks
Children and Young People 30 hours
Introduction to Participating in Leisure E3 NOCN 10 weeks
Activities 30 hours
Writing for Meaning: Grammar and E3 & L1 NOCN 10 weeks
Punctuation 30 hours
Writing for Meaning: Spelling and E3 & L1 NOCN
Handwriting
Writing for Meaning: Writing E3 & L1 NOCN
Composition
National Award in L1 NCFE 10 weeks
Working With Children 30 hours
Speaking & Listening E1 English 20 weeks
Speaking 80 hours
Board
Supporting Your Children in Family OCN
Learning E3/L1 30 hours
Making and Using Story Sacks for OCN 30 hours
Family Learning E3/L1
Working with Your Child to Develop L1 OCN 30 hours
Literacy Skills
Working with Your Child to Develop OCN 30 hours
Numeracy Skills L1
Reading E3/L1 OCN 60 hours
Speaking and Listening E3/L1 OCN 60 hours
Writing for Meaning E3/L1 OCN 60 hours

Developing and using materials to E1 – L2 OCNLR 30 hrs


support children’s learning
Supporting children’s language E1 – L2 OCNLR 30 hrs
development

Introduction to Personal Digital E3 NOCN 5 weeks


Photograph Processing 10 hours

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FA L1 Football Coaching award L1 FA 24hrs


Basic First Aid for Babies and Children Basic British Red 8 hours
Cross
First Aid for Families Basic British Red 10 hours
Cross
Basic Paediatric First Aid St John 3 hours
Ambulance
Emergency Resuscitation First Aid for St John 3 hours
baby and child Ambulance

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