News | 03 April 2025
CPR training proves to be vital
The central student health team at Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES) offers colleagues training to become a CPR instructor, and the latest training session took place earlier this week at head office.
“The goal is for all schools to have instructors, with the task of training staff and students regularly at their respective schools”, said Helena Lüning, director of student health at IES.
From the left: Jennie Carlsten and Sanna Tedsjö, lead instructors for adult and children’s CPR at IES.
All instructors are part of a central student health network of CPR instructors and are offered opportunities to exchange knowledge and experience, which can be used in the work with CPR and first aid at the schools. The instructor training was held by Sanna Tedsjö, school nurse at IES Eskilstuna, and Jennie Carlsten, school nurse at IES Norrtälje. Both are lead instructors for adult and children's CPR.
Ms Tedsjö said: “All schools within IES must be safe and secure for everyone, and knowledge of CPR and first aid is vital.”
Before the on-site training at head office, participants were asked to prepare by going through a CPR training course online. One of the staff members who signed up to be an instructor is Malin Åkerman, an activity leader at the leisure time centre at IES Trelleborg. But before she had the chance to attend the onsite training session, her skills were tested for real during leisure time activities at school.
"Two colleagues and I were outside, spread out in the schoolyard doing different sports with the preschool class children. Suddenly, I saw our teaching assistant collapse on the bandy pitch in some sort of seizure,” Ms Åkerman recalled.
The other colleague was closer to the bandy pitch and got there first. She shouted ‘he's not breathing’ and to call 112. Ms Åkerman made the call, and when she got there he was already turning blue.
Ms Åkerman said: “I started CPR immediately and my colleague called the principal and ran to get the school nurse. She got all the children inside the school to calm them down. Even before the ambulance arrived, the CPR woke him up and he got the colour back on his face before being transported to the hospital.”
The week after, the school arranged so that Ms Åkerman was awarded a well-deserved certificate of bravery at a staff meeting. The school also made sure that the children received support and answers to their questions. The colleague who collapsed lives close to the school and is on sick leave. He has been in contact
with the school, and they have already arranged a meet-up outside his house. The preschool class children went on a little hike, and they took the opportunity to stop by his house to say hello and see that he was ok.
Now that Ms Åkerman has carried out the practical training at the head office as well, she is even more prepared if there is another emergency.
She said: "We work with children and they can choke, so you need to know what to do.”
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ENG: Learn more about CPR