Mini First Aid Tees Valley

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Every year, people lose their lives in the seas around the UK — and many of these tragedies involve rip currents.
A rip current is a strong, fast flow of water pulling away from the shore. They can be powerful enough to drag even confident swimmers into deeper water, and they’re often hard to spot from the beach.

🌊 If you’re caught in a rip current:
⚠️ Call loudly for help
⚠️ Hold on to anything that floats (inflatable, bodyboard, surfboard)
⚠️ DO NOT swim against the current — you won’t win
⚠️ Swim parallel to the shore to move out of the current
⚠️ Once free of the pull, swim back towards land
⚠️ If you can stand, wade rather than swim to steady yourself

🛟 Beach safety tips:
⚠️ Choose a lifeguarded beach
⚠️ Always swim between the red and yellow flags
⚠️ If the windsock shows strong offshore wind, keep inflatables out of the sea
⚠️ If someone else is in trouble, alert lifeguards or call 999 and ask for the Coastguard

You can learn more about water safety and Drowning Prevention Week through the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK).

🧡 Baby & Child First Aid – Thornaby

If your little one choked, burned themselves, bumped their head or became suddenly unwell… would you feel confident knowing what to do?

Our relaxed, hands‑on class teaches choking, CPR, burns, bleeds, febrile seizures, meningitis signs and more — giving you the confidence every parent deserves.

📅 Thursday 18th June, 6pm
📍 Thornaby

Spaces are limited — grab yours and feel prepared for whatever comes your way.

You know you need First Aid training for your role — but do you know which qualification you actually need?

Different jobs, different risks, different legal requirements… and then all the acronyms like EFAW, FAW, and PFA on top. No wonder it feels confusing.

Our Quality Assurance & Compliance Manager at Mini First Aid has created a clear, simple guide to help you choose the right course for your workplace.

So whether you’re a school leader, nursery manager, childminder, business owner, SIA licence holder, or responsible for health & safety in any setting, this guide explains exactly what you need.

Full guide in the comments 👇

Cow parsley is a common plant in the UK, we are seeing it everywhere at the moment, but did you know that there is a similar, related plant, called Giant Hogweed, which is toxic and can cause severe skin blisters*, burns and even blindness?

Toxic components in the sap of leaves, stems, roots, flowers and seeds of Giant Hogweed can be transferred to the skin by touch, and they make skin super sensitive to sunlight, which can then cause rashes, burns and severe blistering.

NHS guidance is to wash the area of skin with soap and water as quickly as possible, keep it covered and seek medical advice.

If a burn appears, treat it as you would any skin burn:

• Stop the burn process as soon as possible.
• Cool the skin with cool running water for 20 minutes
• Cover the burn with cling film.
• Treat the pain from a burn with paracetamol or ibuprofen.

Please see your GP or call 111 if symptoms are severe or persistent.

Swipe the slides to see how to identify Giant Hogweed - if in doubt, do not touch and please contact the council if the plant is on council-owned land.

*Please note, we have not been able to source an image of how skin blisters due to hogweed would look on black or brown skin - if this has happened to you and you would like to share the image to help others understand how this presents, please DM us 💚

Front Slide Image credits:
Blister image: Dragan Marjanovic, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Hogweed Image: This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

🧡 Baby & Child First Aid – Middlesbrough

If your little one choked, burned themselves, bumped their head or became suddenly unwell… would you feel confident knowing what to do?

Our relaxed, hands‑on class teaches choking, CPR, burns, bleeds, febrile seizures, meningitis signs and more — giving you the confidence every parent deserves.

📅 Thursday 9th July, 6pm
📍 Middlesbrough Fire Station

Spaces are limited — grab yours and feel prepared for whatever comes your way.

We don't only do first aid classes for parents at Mini First Aid, we offer a full range of first aid workplace training including courses for those of you who need a first aid qualification for your job.

We're looking at you teachers, childminders, nursery workers, health & safety workers, nannies, personal trainers, firefighters, flight attendants....everyone who needs certification!

We offer in-person and blended learning options for full flexibility and we are FAIB accredited.

Like our parent first aid classes, our qualification courses are practical and hands-on as we know this is the best way to learn and remember what you have been taught.

If your certification is coming up for renewal, or you need to get started with a qualification, drop us a message or check the classes tab on our website for info on courses in your area.

💻 www.minifirstaid.co.uk/classes/workplace-first-aid-courses
📍 UK-wide

First Aid Qualification, First Aid At Work, Emergency First Aid At Work, Paediatric First Aid

More than 10 million drivers don’t know how to put someone in the recovery position, and only 56% said they feel confident performing CPR.*

Yet every day, millions of us get behind the wheel, confident we’ve passed the test that says we’re “safe” on the road.

But what happens when you’re first at the scene of a crash?

What’s important before emergency services arrive is not just putting out the hazard lights or warning triangles, it’s the people who may need you to keep them alive or safe from further harm. Would you know how to help someone who isn’t breathing properly? Would you know how to keep them safe?

Passing your driving test proves you can drive but learning first aid proves you can respond when it really matters and now the driving theory test in the UK doesn’t just test your driving, it also tests your ability to save a life.

Learn adult first aid with us and be prepared!

*Source: Money Supermarket research shared by driving.org

🎉GIVEAWAY!🎉

Mini First Aid and Dadpaduk have teamed up for a brilliant Father’s Day giveaway designed especially for new and expectant dads. One lucky winner will receive a DadPad bundle plus a Mini First Aid Family First Aid Kit, a prize package worth over £50!

The giveaway bundle includes:

👉 The DadPad Essential Guide for New Dads
👉 The DadPad Back to Basics Baby Guide
👉 A Mini First Aid Family First Aid Kit

The Dadpaduk Essential Guide for New Dads is packed with practical, straight-talking advice to help dads feel more confident caring for their new baby, covering everything from feeding and changing to supporting mum and looking after themselves too. The Back to Basics Baby Guide is a handy, quick-reference guide filled with useful tips and information for those early days of parenting.

Our Mini First Aid Family First Aid Kit contains 115 first aid essentials including a digital thermometer, instant cold pack and paramedics’ recommended shears which cut through clothing and seatbelts - ideal for keeping at home or in the car for family emergencies.

To ENTER:

FOLLOW Mini First Aid
FOLLOW Dadpaduk
LIKE this post
COMMENT ‘DadPad’ or share your favourite fatherhood GIF

You can also tag friends in separate comments for extra entries.

GOOD LUCK!

Please note that we would NEVER ask you to follow a link to enter personal details. All giveaway entry mechanisms will be solely on the social media platform the giveaway is being hosted on. Please beware of spam accounts and check the spelling and punctuation of anyone who messages you.

Open to UK entries only. Entries will be accepted until 11.59pm Sunday 14th June 2026. Winners will be contacted by direct message and may be announced on our page and Stories. Items will be shipped within 5 working days of contact with the winner. This giveaway is not sponsored by, administered by or associated with Meta. By entering, entrants confirm they are 18+ years of age, release Meta of all responsibility and agree to Meta’s terms of use.

‼️Child Safety Week (1st to 7th of June)

This week was about promoting accident prevention.

Accidents aren’t planned, it’s normally something little that doesn’t stand out as obvious or make perfect sense to an adult.

For more hints and tips see this weeks Mini First Aid blog on the website, link in comments.