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If you are looking for first aid training, one of your first questions is likely to be:
How much is a first aid course in the UK?
For a recognised workplace first-aid course, you can expect to pay anywhere from around £97 for a one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course to several hundred pounds for a three-day First Aid at Work course.
Businesses training several employees may find onsite training more cost-effective, particularly when the course price can be shared across a group.
However, price should not be the only consideration.
Before booking, check exactly what course you are getting, how it is assessed, whether the certificate is a regulated qualification or a provider-issued certificate, how much practical training is included and whether the course is appropriate for your workplace.
At First Aid and Safety Training, our current open-course prices start from approximately:
Emergency First Aid at Work, EFAW – £97 per learner
Paediatric First Aid, PFA – £147 per learner
First Aid at Work, FAW – £267 per learner
These are a useful guide, but always check the current course page when booking because prices and availability can change.
How Much Does Emergency First Aid at Work Cost?
Emergency First Aid at Work, usually shortened to EFAW, is normally a one-day course.
It is commonly chosen by lower-risk workplaces or where an employer’s first-aid needs assessment identifies EFAW as the appropriate level of training.
At First Aid and Safety Training, an open EFAW course currently costs around:
£97 per person
The course provides practical training in essential emergency first-aid skills, including casualty assessment, CPR, AED use, choking, bleeding and shock.
Learners who successfully complete our regulated course receive a Qualsafe Awards qualification.
That distinction is worth understanding when comparing course prices.
How Much Does a First Aid at Work Course Cost?
First Aid at Work, or FAW, is the more comprehensive workplace first-aid qualification.
The initial course normally involves three days of learning and assessment, although blended learning options can sometimes allow part of the learning to be completed remotely with the required practical element delivered face to face.
At First Aid and Safety Training, an open FAW course currently costs approximately:
£267 per person
FAW covers the core emergency skills included within EFAW alongside a much broader range of injuries and medical conditions.
It is commonly selected by larger organisations and higher-risk workplaces, although the appropriate qualification should always be determined through the employer’s first-aid needs assessment.
How Much Does a Paediatric First Aid Course Cost?
Paediatric First Aid is designed for people responsible for babies and children, including those working within early years settings.
At First Aid and Safety Training, our open Paediatric First Aid course currently costs around:
£147 per person
Our PFA training leads to a regulated Qualsafe Awards qualification and is designed to meet the relevant requirements for those needing a recognised paediatric first-aid qualification.
When comparing PFA prices, make sure you are comparing equivalent courses.
A short children’s first-aid awareness session is not the same as a full Paediatric First Aid qualification.
First Aid Course Price Comparison UK
To put those prices into context, we checked the publicly advertised prices from two of the UK’s best-known first-aid training organisations, St John Ambulance and British Red Cross, on 20 October 2026.
Their advertised prices are generally shown excluding VAT, so take that into account when comparing the final amount payable. St John also states that course prices can vary by location. St John Ambulance
| Course | First Aid & Safety Training | St John Ambulance | British Red Cross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency First Aid at Work | Approx. £97 | From £160 ex VAT | From £173 ex VAT |
| First Aid at Work | Approx. £267 | From £335 ex VAT | From £359 ex VAT |
| Paediatric First Aid | Approx. £147 | From £170 ex VAT | From £209 ex VAT |
St John Ambulance’s published prices currently start at £160 ex VAT for EFAW, £335 ex VAT for FAW and £170 ex VAT for PFA. St John Ambulance
British Red Cross currently advertises EFAW from £173 ex VAT, FAW from £359 ex VAT and Paediatric First Aid from £209 ex VAT. Red Cross First Aid Training
These are advertised “from” prices, so the amount available for a particular date, location or delivery method may differ.
That is also why we would not recommend choosing a training provider purely from a comparison table.
There is another important difference to understand.
Are All First Aid Certificates the Same?
No.
This is one of the areas we think businesses should look at carefully when comparing first-aid course prices.
First Aid and Safety Training is an approved Qualsafe Awards Centre.
Our relevant EFAW, FAW and PFA courses lead to regulated qualifications awarded through Qualsafe Awards, rather than simply certificates created and issued by FAST itself.
Ofqual explains that recognised awarding organisations develop and award regulated qualifications and put in place the assessments and quality arrangements associated with them. The government’s Register of Regulated Qualifications allows employers and learners to check whether a qualification is officially regulated. GOV.UK
This gives the qualification external oversight beyond the training centre delivering the course.
What About St John Ambulance and British Red Cross Certificates?
Both are extremely well-known first-aid organisations and major UK training providers.
However, brand recognition and qualification regulation are not necessarily the same thing.
For the standard courses we checked, St John Ambulance describes its Paediatric First Aid course as providing a three-year St John Ambulance certificate. Its FAW and EFAW pages similarly describe St John certification and HSE-compliant training. St John Ambulance
British Red Cross describes its courses as providing a three-year British Red Cross certificate. Its current pages use that wording for EFAW, FAW and Paediatric First Aid. Red Cross First Aid Training
By contrast, when you successfully complete one of FAST’s relevant Qualsafe courses, you are achieving a regulated qualification awarded by an external awarding organisation.
That does not mean a St John Ambulance or British Red Cross course is somehow invalid for workplace first-aid purposes.
The distinction is about the type of certification and external qualification framework, not simply whether somebody is capable of providing good first-aid training.
When comparing prices, we think employers should know what they are actually buying.
Does a First Aid Course Have to Be Ofqual Regulated?
Not necessarily.
Employers have responsibility for selecting appropriate first-aid training arrangements, and HSE no longer operates the old system of approving individual first-aid training providers.
A regulated qualification is one route an employer can choose.
We deliberately use the Qualsafe Awards route because it provides external assessment standards, quality assurance and nationally recognised regulated qualifications.
For many businesses, that offers reassurance that the qualification is not simply being designed, assessed and certificated solely by the company delivering the training.
Is a Cheaper First Aid Course Worse?
Not necessarily.
Price alone tells you surprisingly little about the quality of a first-aid course.
A national provider may have substantial overheads associated with training centres, administration and nationwide operations.
A regional training provider may operate differently and be able to offer a regulated qualification at a lower price.
Equally, an extremely cheap course should encourage you to look at exactly what is included.
Check:
- Which qualification or certificate will you receive?
- Who awards it?
- Is it a regulated qualification?
- Is the training appropriate for your workplace?
- How much practical training is included?
- Are learners formally assessed?
- Is equipment provided?
- Are certification costs included?
- Does the course meet the required learning hours?
- What happens if a learner does not initially meet the assessment standard?
- Is the provider appropriately quality assured?
Comparing like with like is more useful than simply choosing the lowest number on Google.
How Much Is Onsite First Aid Training?
Onsite first-aid training works differently from an open course.
Instead of employees travelling individually to a public course, the trainer comes to your workplace and delivers the course specifically for your organisation.
For groups, this can make financial sense.
It also reduces travel, can minimise disruption and allows some of the practical discussion to be related directly to your working environment.
How Much Is Onsite Emergency First Aid at Work?
Our current guide price for an onsite Emergency First Aid at Work course is:
£800 for the course
We can train up to 12 learners on the course.
That means a full course of 12 works out at approximately:
£66.67 per learner
This can be significantly less expensive than booking 12 individual places on open courses.
For comparison, St John Ambulance currently advertises onsite EFAW training from £1,230 ex VAT for up to 12 delegates. St John Ambulance
At its full 12-person capacity, that published price equates to £102.50 per person before VAT.
Can You Add Catastrophic Bleeding Training?
Yes.
For organisations where the first-aid needs assessment identifies a greater risk of serious trauma or life-threatening bleeding, we can add Catastrophic Bleeding training to an onsite EFAW course.
Our current guide price is:
EFAW onsite – £800
Catastrophic Bleeding add-on – additional £100
This allows the training to go beyond the standard EFAW syllabus where the workplace risk justifies additional skills.
Examples could include certain engineering, manufacturing, construction or other environments where severe trauma is a foreseeable risk.
Additional training should be based on the needs of the workplace rather than added simply because it sounds useful.
How Much Is Onsite Paediatric First Aid?
Our onsite Paediatric First Aid pricing works on a minimum group size of six learners.
Additional learners can then be added at the relevant per-person rate, up to the maximum course size of 12.
The total course price is capped at approximately:
£1,470 for up to 12 learners
In effect, at maximum capacity you receive 12 places for the cost of 10.
That works out at approximately:
£122.50 per learner for 12 people
The exact price depends on the number of learners, so contact us for a current quotation.
For comparison, St John Ambulance currently advertises its onsite Paediatric First Aid course from £1,020 for up to 12 delegates, so in this particular comparison its published group price is lower than our maximum group price. St John Ambulance
We think it is important to show that rather than selectively publishing only comparisons where FAST is cheaper.
The difference to consider is that our learners successfully completing the relevant course receive a Qualsafe Awards regulated qualification.
Price is one factor. The qualification being awarded is another.
How Much Is Onsite First Aid at Work?
FAW is a considerably longer course, so onsite delivery naturally costs more than EFAW.
Our onsite FAW courses are priced from a minimum of six learners, with an additional charge as learners are added.
The total price is capped at approximately:
£2,470 for up to 12 learners
At full capacity, that works out at approximately:
£205.83 per learner
For comparison, St John Ambulance currently advertises its onsite First Aid at Work course from £2,460 ex VAT for up to 12 delegates. St John Ambulance
The headline figures are therefore remarkably similar before taking VAT and qualification structure into account.
British Red Cross offers onsite EFAW, FAW and PFA training but currently asks organisations to enquire for group pricing, rather than displaying a comparable fixed onsite price on the course pages we checked. Red Cross First Aid Training
When Does Onsite First Aid Training Become Better Value?
There is no magic number because prices vary by course.
However, once several employees need the same qualification, onsite training becomes worth comparing against individual open-course places.
Take EFAW as a simple example.
At our current guide prices:
1 learner on an open course = approximately £97
6 learners individually = approximately £582
8 learners individually = approximately £776
12 learners individually = approximately £1,164
An onsite course for up to 12 is approximately £800.
At the full 12-person capacity, that represents a substantial saving compared with purchasing 12 separate FAST open-course places.
There are also operational savings that do not appear directly on the training invoice.
Employees may not need to travel to a training centre, mileage can be reduced and the organisation has more control over where the training takes place.
Should I Choose an Open Course or Onsite Training?
Open courses work particularly well when you only need to train one or two people.
You book the required places, and the learners attend one of our scheduled courses.
Onsite training becomes more attractive as group numbers increase.
It can also work well when:
- Several employees need the same qualification
- You want everyone trained together
- Releasing staff to travel is difficult
- Your workplace has specific risks worth discussing
- You operate shifts
- You want to reduce employee travel
- You regularly need to train new first aiders
Cost is therefore only one part of the decision.
Why Do First Aid Course Prices Vary So Much?
Search online for “how much is a first aid course UK?” and you will find a huge range of prices.
Several factors can explain the difference.
The Length of the Course
A one-day EFAW course will normally cost less than a three-day FAW qualification because of the additional teaching and assessment time.
The Type of Qualification
A provider-issued attendance certificate is different from a regulated qualification awarded through an external awarding organisation.
Check what you receive before booking.
Open or Onsite Delivery
An individual place on an open course is priced per learner.
Onsite courses are commonly priced for a group.
Venue Costs
Training providers using permanent or hired venues need to factor those costs into course pricing.
Equipment
Good practical first-aid training requires suitable training equipment.
That can include adult, child and baby CPR manikins, AED trainers, choking equipment, dressings, bandages, wound-packing equipment and other scenario resources.
Assessment and Certification
Regulated qualifications involve assessment, certification and quality-assurance requirements.
Those processes have costs too.
Trainer Numbers and Class Size
First-aid qualifications have requirements around delivery and learner numbers.
Simply putting more and more people into a room may make a course cheaper per head, but it does not necessarily produce effective practical training.
At FAST, our maximum for these courses is 12 learners.
Why Do We Limit Courses to 12 Learners?
Practical first aid needs practice.
Learners should not spend the day watching somebody else perform CPR.
They need opportunities to get onto the floor, use the equipment, make decisions, practise skills and receive feedback.
Keeping course numbers manageable helps us maintain practical involvement throughout the training.
It also allows questions and scenarios to relate more closely to the people in the room.
For our EFAW, FAW and PFA courses, the maximum is 12 learners.
What Does “Nationally Recognised” Actually Mean?
This phrase is used frequently in training advertising, sometimes rather loosely.
When we describe our relevant Qualsafe Awards qualifications as nationally recognised regulated qualifications, we mean they sit within the regulated qualifications system rather than being certificates invented solely by FAST.
Ofqual maintains the official system for regulated qualifications in England. Its register allows people to check whether a qualification is regulated and compare it with similar qualifications. GOV.UK
Qualsafe Awards is the awarding organisation.
FAST is the approved training centre delivering and assessing the qualification in accordance with the awarding organisation’s requirements.
That separation is important to us.
We do not simply teach the course, decide our own standards and print our own qualification.
Is a Big First Aid Training Brand Automatically Better?
No.
Large national organisations can offer advantages, including extensive venue networks and nationwide availability.
Smaller regional providers can offer different advantages.
Those may include competitive pricing, smaller-scale service, direct contact with the people delivering the training and greater flexibility for local businesses.
The organisation’s name should therefore be only one part of your decision.
Ask:
What course am I actually getting?
What qualification will I receive?
Who awards it?
How much practical training is included?
What is the total price?
Those questions make comparison much easier.
Are First Aid Courses Worth Paying More for?
The cheapest option is not automatically the best.
Neither is the most expensive.
Value comes from receiving training that is appropriate for your needs, clinically current, practically delivered and backed by suitable assessment and quality assurance.
For an employer, there is another consideration.
The course should fit the outcome of your first-aid needs assessment.
There is little value in saving £50 by booking EFAW if the organisation’s risks indicate that FAW or additional specialist training is required.
Equally, there is no reason to buy a more expensive course simply because somebody tells you that every workplace needs FAW.
Our guide to the legal requirement for first aid at work explains how employers can determine the appropriate level of provision.
How Much Should I Budget for First Aid Training?
As a simple guide, our current FAST prices are approximately:
| FAST course | Current guide price |
|---|---|
| EFAW open course | £97 per learner |
| PFA open course | £147 per learner |
| FAW open course | £267 per learner |
| EFAW onsite | £800, up to 12 learners |
| Catastrophic Bleeding add-on | £100 additional |
| PFA onsite | Minimum 6 learners, capped around £1,470 for 12 |
| FAW onsite | Minimum 6 learners, capped around £2,470 for 12 |
Prices can change, so these figures should be treated as a guide rather than a permanent price list.
Always check the current course page or request a quotation before making a purchasing decision.
So, How Much Is a First Aid Course in the UK?
For the courses most commonly required by employers, FAST’s current guide prices range from approximately £97 per person for open Emergency First Aid at Work to £267 for open First Aid at Work.
Paediatric First Aid is approximately £147 per learner.
For businesses training larger groups, onsite EFAW currently starts at approximately £800 for up to 12 learners, while our onsite PFA and FAW pricing uses a minimum group size with the total capped for a full group of 12.
Published national-provider prices can be considerably higher for individual open-course places.
However, the answer to “How much is a first aid course in the UK?” should never stop at the price.
Look at what you receive for the money.
Consider the training.
Check the assessment.
Look at the practical content.
Understand the certificate.
Find out who awards the qualification.
Then decide which option offers the best value for your organisation.
Book a Regulated First Aid Qualification With FAST
First Aid and Safety Training provides practical first-aid training for individuals, businesses and organisations across the North East.
Our relevant workplace and paediatric courses are delivered through our approved Qualsafe Awards Centre, giving successful learners regulated qualifications rather than certificates created solely by FAST.
Whether you need one place on an open course or want to train a team of up to 12 people at your premises, we can help you work out the most appropriate and cost-effective option.
Explore our first aid training courses, book a first aid course or contact First Aid and Safety Training for an onsite quotation.
You can also find First Aid and Safety Training on Google and read our customer reviews.
