Childcare CPR & first aid requirements
First Aid & CPR South Africa
If you work in childcare in South Africa — whether at a daycare, preschool, home-based care, or camp — first aid and CPR certification is not optional. It's a licensing requirement, and for good reason: children are among the most vulnerable to choking, allergic reactions, and injuries. Being prepared to respond can mean everything.
What South Africa requires
South Africa's Children's Act No. 38 of 2005 and the 2010 norms and standards for partial-care and ECD facilities require every facility's policies to provide for staff training in first aid and in dealing with emergencies, and each facility to keep a first-aid kit. The norms set no fixed minimum number of certified people, but the duty to train staff is explicit rather than optional. Registering and running a facility therefore assumes caregivers who are prepared to act when a child is hurt.
Anaphylaxis and medication administration
The 2010 regulations address medication directly: a child already on prescribed medicine must receive it as advised by the parents, and all medicines and dangerous substances must be kept in locked or childproof cupboards. Epinephrine auto-injectors are not widely available in the region, so where a child is at risk of anaphylaxis the safest arrangement is written parental consent, secure storage, and staff trained to recognise a severe reaction and act at once.
How our courses meet these requirements
A recognized, standards-based certification — online theory paired with a hands-on skills check — meets South Africa’s requirement and keeps your team ready to act.
Don't wait for renewal day
Anaphylaxis, a blocked airway or a drowning can turn critical within a minute or two, long before an ambulance arrives, and the caregiver on the spot is the child's best chance. First-aid and CPR training turns that moment into decisive, practised action and gives parents genuine confidence in your facility. A recognised, standards-based certification fulfils the Act's duty to train staff in first aid and emergency response — and, above all, keeps a ready responder beside every child.