Huppert Pushes Government To Put Life-Saving On School Timetables

Julian at the Westminster
launch of the Red Cross
campaign

MP Julian Huppert joined forces with a leading national charity today (Tuesday, May 15) to push the government to include life-saving skills on school timetables.

Julian and members of the British Heart Foundation met Education Minister, Nick Gibb following the charity’s high profile campaign for emergency life support to be taught in biology lessons.

The meeting came after Julian led on an open letter signed by 44 MPs to Education Minister, Michael Gove last month calling for schoolchildren to be taught CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

And he visited the British Heart Foundation shop in Cambridge’s Burleigh Street in January to support the campaign.

Julian has also give his backing to a similar campaign, Pupil, Citizen, Lifesaver being run by the Red Cross which was launched in Westminster last week with politicians, pupils and teachers.

“Teaching our children basic life-saving skills would put hundreds of thousands of potential lifesavers out on the streets every year,” said Julian, who used to volunteer with Cambridge’s St John Ambulance.

“We made a strong case to Nick Gibb for including life saving skills on the National Curriculum and he took on board the huge benefits that it could bring to society as a whole.

“Only a handful of primary schools offer this teaching at the moment. Putting it on school timetables across the country would mean that the next generation would be equipped to tackle an emergency situation calmly and efficiently and more lives could be saved as a result.”