BHS Register Requirements

Register of Instructors

In addition to the minimum qualifications required, all new applicants to the Register of Instructors must complete a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) form. These are included in the application pack. For further information about CRBs click here

Everyone on the Register is required to have a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check. As original ID documentation needs to be seen by the BHS Training Department it will need to be sent with your application form through the post. Alternatively you can come to BHS Headquarters at Stoneleigh where it can be checked in person. Our office hours are 8.35am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.35am - 3pm on Friday. If you are intending to come to the offices we would be grateful if you could phone ahead so that we can ensure someone is available.

Each applicant must also hold a current Safeguarding and Protecting Children certificate and First Aid certificate. We accept either the Health & Safety at Work First Aid full certificate or the BHS First Aid certificate and copies of these must be included with the application. We do not accept the one day Emergency First Aid certificate. As with first aid, we accept the BEF Safeguarding & Protection Children workshops organised by the BHS and also the Sport England course.

Health and Safety Executive Guidelines

The Health and Safety Executive have strict guidelines as to the content and duration of the FAW course. The Association of First Aiders, supported and approved by the Health and Safety Executive have given us the following information about the HSE FAW course. If the course you intend to do does not follow this format and is advertised as an Equine FAW without the additional hours to cover the equine aspect, please check with the Training Department to see if it is a valid HSE FAW course.

“The three day FAW is based on a strict syllabus and an 18 hour teaching time (three days of six hours each). The number of trainees should make no difference to the length of the course after all the syllabus and the detail of information to be imparted still remains the same. Furthermore any add-ons outside of the syllabus should be added to the teaching hours and two certificates should be issued – one for the first aid element and one for the bolt on equine element.”

Anyone who holds a valid HSE First Aid at Work (FAW) certificate can opt to either refresh their FAW certificate by attending a two day re-qualification course or attend the BHS First Aid one day refresher course for the BHS First Aid certificate.

You can only attend a HSE FAW two day re-qualification course if you hold a valid HSE FAW certificate. If the certificate you hold is not HSE FAW, for example any industry specific first aid certificate, you cannot ‘upgrade’ to HSE First Aid at Work. If you wish to change from an industry specific first aid certificate to HSE First Aid at Work you will need to attend the full HSE FAW three day course.

Accepted First Aid Certificates

For the BHS Register of Instructors we only accept the following certificates:-

BHS First Aid - Initial Two Day Course
BHS First Aid - Refresher One Day Course
HSE First Aid at Work (FAW) - Initial Three Day Course
HSE First Aid at Work (FAW) - Refresher Two Day Course

We do not accept any HSE FAW one day Emergency First Aid or Appointed Persons courses.

If you decide not to take the BHS First Aid course, the course you attend and the certificate you receive must be a HSE approved First Aid at Work (FAW) course so please check carefully with the course provider and their registering body before booking on - or call the Training Department on 02476 840510 to confirm that it will be accepted in order that your application is not held up.

New for 2012

From January 2012 there will be a new company presenting the First Aid courses on behalf of the BHS in England and Wales. The company are called SkillBase First Aid and are based in Desford, Leicestershire and currently deliver a range of first aid courses across the UK. This change of company will have no effect to candidates who will book onto the courses in the same way via the BHS Training Department. The only change you will see is a different team of presenters, a revised and updated course and a redesigned certificate with the BHS and SkillBase logo on. There has been some confusion from candidates as to whether certificates issed by the BHS and Pro Medical will remain valid due to this change. For anyone who attends a BHS course up to and including the 31 December 2011 and is issued with a BHS/Pro Medical certificate, this will be valid and recognised by the BHS until its expiry date. When this expires candidates will be able to then just attend the BHS One-Day Refresher course. From 1 January 2012, customers who want their first aid certificate to be recognised by the BHS for the Register of Instructors, Approved Centres or BHS examinations will need to obtain either the BHS First Aid course issued jointly by the BHS and SkillBase or the full three day/two day refresher First Aid at Work course. Please note, we do not accept any other type of first aid certificates that are equine specialised other than the BHS course.

Further Information

Please see the relevant section under Training for details of our Safeguarding & Protection Children and First Aid courses.

Once accepted onto the register, instructors are required to complete a Continual Professional Training (CPD) day every two years to keep their training record up-to-date. The Training Department run a number of national and regional courses each year for instructors and also accept some courses run by other disciplines.

For further information on CPD training courses please see the CPD section.

Register of Grooms

Currently applicants onto the Register of Grooms do not have to complete a CRB check, hold a Safeguarding and Protecting Children or First Aid certificate or complete regular CPD training courses. However, this may change in the future and we actively encourage all of our registered grooms to voluntarily hold Safeguarding & Protecting Children and First Aid certificates and to keep abreast of new initiatives with the horse care arena.

Overseas

Instructors who are resident overseas are listed under this category, which does not provide insurance cover. These Instructors are required to hold an equivalent First Aid at Work Certificate.

Code of Conduct

Registered Instructors and Registered Grooms and Overseas members are required to abide by a Code of Conduct which will both safeguard their interests and that of the general public.

For further information please contact the Training Department on 02476 840510 or email roi@bhs.org.uk.