Who are we?

We are a first aid training provider, who over the last few years have become increasingly specialised towards the rapidly growing area of sports-based First Aid.

Our focus is to support the first aid provision for undergraduate Sports Therapy students.

What’s our experience?

We successfully bid to provide the Level 3 First Aid at Work (FAW) training to the accredited* undergraduate Sports Therapy cohort at the University of Derby.

We have successfully delivered training to their level 5 students for the previous 6 years offering flexible as well as blended training solutions to an average cohort of approximately 90 students each year.

We are proud to say that this provision was continuous throughout the COVID pandemic; an achievement we are proud to offer as a testament to our commitment to flexible delivery whilst also strictly adhering to Governments guidelines in addition to the institutions own regulations and precautions.

* Accredited by The Society of Sports Therapists, SST

What is our aim?

Our aim at SWAP is to offer institutions a theoretical and practical link between those emergency first aid skills the sports therapist legally require and those they practically need on a day to day basis.

How did we arrive at this aim?

This has been in development over the last few years and has derived directly from the insights gained from the feedback of both the undergraduate Sports Therapists as well as discussions with graduate / experienced Sports Therapy practitioners.

Over time, key themes started to develop, and highlighted a clear gap that exists between the emergency first aid skills intended to preserve life / manage trauma until specialist help arrives; and the ‘everyday’ application of those same skills within a regular sporting / fitness-based environment.

Why is this important for Sports Therapists?

To use a very common example, being taught how to manage an acute lateral ankle sprain is something we find students generally feel comfortable with. However we also found that students and practitioners alike feel far less confident when attempting to apply the same knowledge to conduct a pitch-side return to play assessment of a suspected lateral ankle sprain.

Dealing with this ‘grey’ area can be tricky enough, but this can be made far more challenging when the practitioner is experiencing the external pressure that so often accompanies the ‘competitive environment’.

What can we do to help minimise this gap?

Whilst supervised experience is the long-term solution; as you’re aware this applied sporting element is not accredited for by the vast majority of first aid providers, nonetheless we at SWAP have developed materials to help bridge this ‘gap’.

How have we done this?

Our team have sourced the latest evidence based information and have created up to two days of additional training content (dependent upon the institutional requirements) aimed at establishing a solid foundation of understanding that is intended to support the assessment and on-field management of minor injuries and trauma.

How does this relate to the required First Aid qualification?

With respect to the certified level 3 FAW, we can deliver this course content (blended) for three 6 hr days (including one day (6hrs) online) and then integrate this with 1-2 days of sports specific content.

We appreciate you may already have the FAW provision covered, however we would love to discuss how we might be able to help you deliver this sport element as an additional component to underpin the knowledge from the FAW.

What options are there with the delivery?

With respect to delivery itself we appreciate you may already cover certain elements of this within your programme structure; hence we offer the following options:

• Blended L3 FAW (6 hrs online, 12 hrs on-site)
  
• L3 FAW (18 hrs on-site)
• 1 day on-site, sport-based add-on (Specific detail can be discussed)
• 2 day on-site, sport-based add-on (Specific detail can be discussed)
• 1/2 day on-site with additional integration of evidence-based perspective*

* The content is evidence-based in all cases, however both the 1 or 2 day options can be integrated with an explicit research component; where a more critical perspective is offered.

Here, students will be provided with an extra opportunity to apply their burgeoning research skills and engage directly with the peer-reviewed papers as they explore the evidence that relates to the topics at hand.

Who else do we teach first aid to?

Having designed a 2 day sports-specific programme for Sports Therapists, this soon placed us in the ideal situation to tailor this content to align to the additional first aid training needs of a number of sport/activity-related arenas situated within both HE and FE institutions.

• Sports Coaching Students
• Sports & Exercise Science Students
• Strength & Conditioning Students
• Sports Psychology
• Public Services

What Our Clients Say

Sean Lowton-Smith - MSc (Pre-reg); PGCHE; BSc (Hons); HCPC; Fellow HEA; MCSP.

Senior Lecturer in Sport Therapy and Rehabilitation