GPAtlasWhat it covers
Why an infant or a child arrests because the breathing or the circulation failed first, and what that changes in the opening minute. The 2025 Resuscitation Council UK paediatric sequence as it is written: the ten-second look, five rescue breaths, the depth as a share of the chest, the technique that differs between an infant and a child, and the ratio a trained clinician uses. Choking at both ages, the defibrillator on a small chest, the paediatric kit and medicines a surgery keeps, the parents in the room, and what the practice owes everybody once the ambulance has gone.
Who it is for
Clinical staff who see children, from GPs and trainees to practice nurses, nursing associates, healthcare assistants, paramedics and pharmacists. The Level 1 outcomes are here too, in their paediatric form.
By the end you will be able to
- Spot the child heading for arrest, and get help moving before the heart stops.
- Run the 2025 paediatric sequence, with the depth, the rate and the ratio.
- Use the infant and the child technique, and the defibrillator on a small chest.
- Clear a choking infant or child, and hold a small airway open.
- Know the paediatric kit a surgery holds, and what the crew needs from you.
- Apply a plan recorded for a child, and close the event afterwards.
Modules
- The child who is going off
- The paediatric sequence
- Shock, choking and the kit
- Parents, records and afterwards
This is the knowledge part of paediatric basic life support for clinical staff. The hands learn it on an infant and a child manikin with a trainer, and the Resuscitation Council UK expects clinical staff to update at least every year. Your own emergency equipment policy governs what sits on the shelf and who checks it.
Content mapped to the learning outcomes of the Core Skills Training Framework (England) v1.1: Resuscitation, Level 2, Paediatric Basic Life Support. Law named: Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, regulation 12.
Sources
- Paediatric Life Support Guidelines (Resuscitation Council UK, published 27 October 2025)
- Paediatric in-hospital basic life support algorithm 2025 (Resuscitation Council UK)
- Paediatric out-of-hospital basic life support algorithm 2025 (Resuscitation Council UK)
- Paediatric choking algorithm 2025 (Resuscitation Council UK)
- Guidance: Defibrillators, including the use of an AED on a child (Resuscitation Council UK)
- Quality Standards: Primary care (Resuscitation Council UK, published November 2013, last updated May 2020)
- Quality Standards: primary care equipment and drug lists (Resuscitation Council UK, last updated May 2020)
- GP mythbuster 1: Emergency care in general practice (Care Quality Commission, updated 25 February 2026)
- Fever in under 5s: assessment and initial management, NG143 (NICE, 2019, updated 2021), traffic light table and remote assessment
- Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 3rd edition (1st revision) 2016 (British Medical Association, Resuscitation Council UK and Royal College of Nursing), section 11: children and young people under 18
- ReSPECT, the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment, designed for individuals of all ages (Resuscitation Council UK)
- How to resuscitate a child (NHS.UK), the advice given to the public
- Core Skills Training Framework (England) Statutory/Mandatory Subject Guide v1.1, June 2021 (Skills for Health), Resuscitation: Key Learning Outcomes, Level 2 Paediatric Basic Life Support (archived copy)
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, regulation 12: safe care and treatment
GPAtlas is not accredited, verified or endorsed by Skills for Health or NHS England. Acceptance of this training is at the discretion of your employer, who remains responsible for confirming it meets local requirements. Your employer may require more frequent refreshers than the guidance period; the practice's own policy applies. Some pictures and films in our courses, and the film narration, are made with AI tools. We check every one for accuracy before we publish it.