The Department for Education has said that deliveries of defibrillators to all state-funded schools in England without a device will begin today.
It comes after the government committed to ensuring there was a device in every school in July last year.
The DfE has said more than 20,000 defibrillators will be sent to almost 18,000 state-funded schools by the end of the academic year.
Last year, the DfE said the rollout of the devices would “build on existing requirements for schools to teach first aid as part of the curriculum”.
The rollout also comes after campaigning from the Oliver King Foundation and its founder Mark King, whose son died at 12 from a cardiac arrest while swimming at school.
External heated defibrillator cabinets will be provided to primary and special schools in areas where provision is lower in order to support schools in making defibrillators available to the community.
Secondary schools receiving two or more defibrillators will be provided with an internal cabinet, so one can be placed at the school’s sports facility, where a cardiac arrest is more likely to happen.
The Oliver King Foundation and other leading charities, including the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK and St John Ambulance, have supported the creation of updated guidance to support schools.
And awareness videos are being provided to schools to show them how to use the devices.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the department was ”celebrating a huge milestone”.
She said: “None of this would have come about without the relentless and brave campaigning of Mark King and the Oliver King Foundation, and we are extremely grateful to him and other leading charities for the ongoing support they will doubtless provide schools from lesson plans to staff training.”
Mr King, founder of the Oliver King Foundation, said: “This is a landmark moment and will be welcomed by pupils, parents and teachers up and down the country.
“It is a proud day for us because we’ve campaigned for schools to have access to defibrillators for over a decade. It is a major victory for the Oliver King Foundation.
“Defibrillators save lives and I have no doubt that lives will now be saved so that families do not have to suffer the heartbreak of unnecessarily losing a child. This is for our Ollie.”
