Published on 10/09/2025 & Updated on 19/10/2026.
To put it simply, schools are not legally required to have a defibrillator on site in the UK, although the situation varies slightly across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In England, the Department for Education launched a programme in 2022 to supply state-funded schools with defibrillators, completing its £19 million programme in July 2023, with over 20,000 defibrillators delivered to almost 18,000 schools. The rollout followed years of campaigning by the Oliver King Foundation.
This means that, in practice, most schools in England now have access to a defibrillator, even though the law does not make it compulsory. Independent schools and academies are also encouraged to have them, but provision can still vary.
In Wales, there is also no legal obligation for schools to have a defibrillator, but the Welsh Government has supported their rollout through funding and local initiatives. Many schools have benefitted from government schemes and community partnerships, making the equipment far more widely available.
Scotland takes a similar approach, with no legislation requiring schools to have defibrillators, but with many being provided through government support, charities and local fundraising efforts.
In Northern Ireland, schools are again not legally required to have a defibrillator, but government-backed programmes and community initiatives have ensured that many do.
In 2025, the Department for Education released guidance on AEDs in schools, with the broad outline being to get AEDs into every school while making them usable, accessible, and scalable. Although this guidance for finding and placing AEDs in schools has been released, there is no government plan to provide them.
In this blog, we’ll look at why every school should have an AED, how CPR is taught in schools, the options for getting a defibrillator, and how to make it available to your wider community.
Why Is It So Important to Have Defibrillators in Schools and Universities?
Defibrillators play a vital role across the education sector, and here’s why:
1. They Provide Protection for Everyone
Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, regardless of age or fitness, and immediate access to a defibrillator can be life-saving.
Schools, colleges and universities bring together large numbers of pupils, students, staff and visitors every day, making it essential to be prepared for medical emergencies. And while these types of incidents are rare in young people, they do occur, and staff or visitors may also be at risk.
So, having a defibrillator on site not only provides critical reassurance but also ensures that a community is ready to respond quickly in the event of an emergency. Browse our wide range of high-quality, reliable defibrillators for schools here.
2. Quick Response Will Save Lives
When someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, their heart stops beating effectively, and blood can no longer circulate around the body.
Without immediate intervention, the chances of survival drop by about 10 per cent with every passing minute.
Emergency services in the UK aim to arrive as quickly as possible, but even a short delay can be critical. Having a defibrillator readily available on school or university grounds means that life-saving treatment can begin within moments, restoring the heart’s rhythm and greatly increasing the chances of survival until paramedics take over.
In many cases, this swift action is the difference between life and death.
There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests across the UK every year, but fewer than one in ten people survive. The more defibrillators that are accessible in schools, and the more people trained in how to use them, the better the chance of survival for children, staff and visitors who suddenly collapse from a cardiac arrest.
3. They Reassure Families
The knowledge that a defibrillator is available on site provides reassurance to everyone connected with a school, college or university.
Parents feel more confident knowing that their children are learning in an environment equipped to handle emergencies, while staff and students gain comfort from the fact that they are not left vulnerable should a cardiac arrest occur.
Beyond the immediate users of the institution, visitors and the wider community also benefit from this sense of preparedness.
CPR on the Curriculum
While schools aren’t legally required to have a defibrillator, state-funded schools in England have been required to teach CPR and the purpose of defibrillators as part of health education since September 2020.
Here at Defib World, we believe involving children in CPR and Basic Life Support (BLS) training and education is an excellent way to give young people a head start and build confidence and knowledge about how to respond to emergencies.
Back in 2019, the then Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced plans to add CPR to the school curriculum in England, giving thousands of secondary school pupils across the country a chance to learn critical, life-saving first aid skills.
This means that, before leaving secondary school, pupils should be taught how to perform CPR, the purpose and use of defibrillators, and basic first aid for minor injuries.
A study conducted in Sweden in 2020 explored this in more detail. First, the researchers asked participants, all aged between 16 and 20, on their confidence levels in performing effective emergency CPR. Then, the cohort was given a detailed, two-hour theoretical and practical education session on CPR and emergency BLS before being encouraged to carry out CPR on Brayden Pro Manikins while abiding by European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines.
The results showed that even this short, two-hour session led to a significant increase in confidence levels. On a 100-point scale, participants’ average confidence in identifying a cardiac arrest rose from 51 to 90, in performing chest compressions from 65 to 91, and in using a defibrillator from 61 to 81.
It’s clear, then, that simply engaging children and young people in education sessions, even briefly, can have an impressive impact on their confidence in using BLS and CPR skills in emergencies.
Good CPR training relies on good-quality equipment. At Defib World, we stock some of the highest-quality CPR training manikins, as well as training defibrillators and handy first aid equipment, such as face shields and carry cases.
You can shop our extensive range of training equipment.
How to Get a Free Defibrillator in a School
As we touched on above, getting a free defibrillator in a school is possible through a combination of government schemes, charities and community initiatives.
Let’s look at these in a little more detail:
- Government programmes – In England, the Department for Education has already supplied defibrillators to state-funded schools through a national rollout completed in 2023. Schools that may have missed this should contact their local authority or the Department for Education to check eligibility. The Welsh Government has also supported schools in acquiring devices, while in Scotland and Northern Ireland, government funding and local health initiatives have helped many schools secure them.
- Charities and foundations – Several UK charities, such as SADS UK and London Hearts, provide grants or part-funding for defibrillators in schools. These organisations often help with installation and training as well.
- Local fundraising and sponsorship – Parent–teacher associations (PTAs), local businesses and community groups frequently fundraise to supply defibrillators for schools. Some companies also offer sponsorship or match-funding schemes to support the purchase of life-saving equipment.
- Partnerships with ambulance services – In many regions, local ambulance services work with schools to ensure access to defibrillators, sometimes offering devices free of charge or at a heavily reduced cost. They may also provide staff training to ensure confidence in using the equipment.
Making Your School Defibrillator Public Access
If you decide you want to make your defibrillator public access and store it outside, you will need to place it in an appropriate outdoor cabinet.
Outdoor storage means that your defibrillator can be accessed 24/7 by anyone who needs it. The problem with keeping a defibrillator indoors is that it may only be available for use during school hours if the building can’t be accessed at all hours of the day.
This is important because when someone calls 999 in an emergency, the call handler will attempt to tell you where the nearest defibrillator is to your location, so that you, or someone helping you, can fetch it and use it on the casualty as quickly as possible.
Remember, every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest, so ease of access is vital to ensure someone has the best chance of survival. Whether your defibrillator is indoors or outdoors, you should always register it so it can be found in an emergency.
Honourable Mention: DefibCaddy External Locked Defibrillator Cabinet. Made in the UK, the DefibCaddy is a high-quality cabinet for an affordable price to help keep your defibrillator protected at all times.
For more information on our outdoor cabinets or any of our storage solutions, please get in touch with us, and we’d be happy to help.
Are You Ready to Save a Life in School?
Browse our quality range of easy-to-use defibrillators for schools and CPR training equipment, and check out our regularly updated blog to learn more about CPR and first aid.
And of course, if you need assistance or have any questions at all, please call us on 0330 223 6336 or drop us an email at sales@defibworld.org.
