Education Authority confirms CPR training programme among school funding cuts as Minister challenged
Saturday 14 November 2026
A programme supporting lifesaving CPR training in Northern Ireland schools has been named among education funding cuts, prompting calls for Education Minister Paul Givan to reconsider a decision that could affect how teachers are supported to deliver compulsory lessons.
The Education Authority (EA) has confirmed that the Community of Lifesavers Programme is among several initiatives for which the Department of Education has not allocated funding this financial year. Schools have been instructed to close activities associated with the affected programmes and avoid further expenditure.
The development has drawn criticism from Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate Dr Kathryn Owen, who warned that teaching children how to respond to a cardiac arrest could mean the difference between life and death.
Although CPR education remains compulsory and defibrillators are not being removed from schools, questions have emerged over how teachers will continue to receive the training and support needed to deliver the lessons.
Funding withdrawal confirmed in Education Authority guidance
The Community of Lifesavers Programme is explicitly identified in EA guidance to schools published on 10 November, under a section addressing additional programme funding that had previously been earmarked.
The guidance confirms that the Department of Education has not allocated funding this year for three initiatives:
• Community of Lifesavers Programme
• Shared Education (mainstreaming)
• Funding for transformation to integrated status
Schools have been directed to bring associated activities to a close and avoid further expenditure under the affected funding arrangements.
The confirmation provides important context to the concerns raised by Dr Owen, establishing that the CPR programme is among those affected by the wider education funding decisions.
However, the guidance does not establish that compulsory CPR lessons themselves have been cancelled or that schools must stop teaching the subject.
The lifesaving importance of CPR education
Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate for Belfast South and Mid Down, Dr Kathryn Owen
Dr Owen, who holds a PhD in cardiovascular disease and is the Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate for Belfast South and Mid Down, has challenged DUP Education Minister Paul Givan over the decision.
She warned that survival following a cardiac arrest depends heavily on how quickly someone nearby begins lifesaving intervention.
“When someone goes into cardiac arrest, their chance of survival can fall by up to 10% for every minute without CPR and defibrillation. In Northern Ireland, fewer than one in ten people survive a cardiac arrest outside hospital where resuscitation is attempted.”
CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, involves chest compressions to help maintain blood circulation when a person's heart stops pumping effectively. A defibrillator can analyse the heart's rhythm and deliver an electrical shock when appropriate.
Because cardiac arrests can happen anywhere, including at home or in public places, the first person able to help may be a family member, friend or passer-by rather than a trained emergency responder.
Dr Owen highlighted the potential importance of children learning these skills while at school.
“The first person there often isn’t a paramedic. It could be a child or grandchild using what they learned at school. The person who saves a life tomorrow could be sitting in a classroom today.”
Compulsory lessons but questions over teacher support
The funding decision raises a distinction between requiring schools to provide CPR education and ensuring teachers have access to the resources and training needed to deliver it effectively.
Dr Owen stressed that the withdrawal of dedicated programme funding should not be confused with the removal of CPR from the curriculum or the withdrawal of defibrillators.
“CPR is still compulsory in schools, and defibrillators aren’t being removed. But this year no dedicated funding has been allocated to the programme that trains teachers to deliver it.”
Her intervention follows an announcement in February celebrating access to defibrillators across Northern Ireland's schools.
Dr Owen welcomed that development but questioned the subsequent decision not to allocate dedicated funding to the training programme.
“In February, the Minister was right to celebrate every school having access to a defibrillator. Nine months later, his Department has left the training programme without funding.”
While defibrillators provide vital emergency equipment, effective CPR education also depends on pupils understanding how to recognise an emergency, seek help and respond appropriately.
It remains unclear what alternative training arrangements, if any, will be available to teachers following the funding decision.
Decision comes amid wider education savings
The Community of Lifesavers Programme funding decision forms part of a much wider financial challenge facing Northern Ireland's education system.
Earlier this week, the Education Authority outlined plans for approximately £20 million in additional savings, bringing its total savings and efficiencies for the 2026–27 financial year to around £50 million.
The measures include increased school meal prices from January 2027, changes to new school taxi arrangements, revised Music Service charges, tighter controls on school spending and the closure of programmes no longer receiving earmarked funding.
Despite these measures, the EA has warned that it still faces a funding shortfall exceeding £100 million to maintain existing services, depending on its final budget allocation.
In its savings statement, the Authority acknowledged the severity of the situation:
“In short, we are being asked to deliver important services to children and young people with insufficient funding.”
It also warned:
“There is now very limited scope to make further reductions without affecting services to schools and pupils.”
The Authority says approximately 83% of its budget is spent on staffing, predominantly school employees, leaving limited flexibility to make additional savings without affecting services.
Minister urged to reconsider CPR funding
Dr Owen acknowledged the pressures on education finances but argued that removing dedicated support for teacher training was the wrong decision.
“I understand the pressure on the education budget, but this is a false economy. Making CPR compulsory is only half the job. Teachers need the training to teach it properly.”
She has called on the Education Minister to reconsider the decision and explain what support schools can expect.
“I’m asking the Minister to reconsider and to explain how schools will be supported.”
The immediate issue is not whether pupils should learn CPR — that requirement remains in place — but whether schools will have sufficient practical support to ensure those lessons are delivered effectively.
With the Community of Lifesavers Programme now explicitly identified among initiatives without funding, the question facing the Education Minister is how teachers will be equipped to pass on skills that could one day save a life.
