Child Matters specialises in delivering educational paediatric first aid courses to parents, carers and childcare professionals.
All Child Matters classes are taught exclusively by children’s nurses, paramedics, first responders and staff with frontline experience in safeguarding and children’s health. Aiming to keep all the classes focused but fun we ensure you feel confident and relaxed whilst learning about often challenging topics.
Our mission is that you complete our first aid courses with more knowledge and more confidence, giving you an understanding of why situations happen and how to manage them, enabling you to respond quickly in an emergency.
Claire is a specialist paediatric nurse, who qualified as a Registered Children’s Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital London in 1998.
Leanne qualified as a children’s nurse in September 2001 from the University of Leeds, gaining experience working in paediatric wards in Leeds and London.
Sarah qualified as an Adult Registered General Nurse/Dip HE at the Royal Free Hospital, London in 1997, starting her career in the Emergency Department.
Following roles in large companies, Natalie decided it was time to utilise her skills supporting a small local business and fellow working mum.
Will is a specialist paramedic and advanced practitioner with more than 10 years’ experience with the NHS working in emergency and primary care.
Jacqui served for 30 years as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police, where her passion for first aid began at just 18 years old.
With a career dedicated to supporting children’s learning, development, and wellbeing, Zoe has extensive experience in the childcare and education sector.
We are delighted to announce that we have surpassed standard requirements and have been awarded a GOLD STANDARDS AWARD
Credibility is what you, our customers crave. If it is peace of mind you seek, when it comes to training and delivery, we can give you every confidence that you are receiving training that is quality assured, monitored and delivered in accordance with regulatory and industry standards.
We are monitored regularly through quality assurance and due diligence process.
It has taken time, persistence, patience, continuity and continued resilience to meet our highest accolade as a GOLD ProTrainings centre.
All of our training at Child Matters is delivered by paediatric professionals, all who have extensive knowledge of working in paediatric A&E departments, hospital wards, clinics and the local community. In addition, we have undertaken first aid instructor training and safeguarding children’s board training. This level of training supports the development of up to the minute courses with relevant materials, helping to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. As well as being highly qualified and certified by each of the counties local boroughs that we work in, we also bring the following qualities to our first aid courses:
Training organisations who were formerly ‘Approved’ by HSE to deliver First Aid Training can no longer claim to be HSE Approved or use an HSE Approval number. All our first aid courses fully meet the UK and European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2015 as per the HSE requirements. Child Matters is approved by ProTrainings who regularly monitor every one of our certified courses and instructors to make sure you receive the best training possible.
The flexibility arising from the changes in the Regulations gives you more choice in the first aid training for their employees and who they choose to provide it. Child Matters can demonstrate how we satisfy criteria set by HSE. These criteria include:
Claire is a specialist paediatric nurse, who qualified as a Registered Children’s Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital London in 1998. Claire has worked continuously within roles in major London hospitals and community settings, which included working as a Senior Sister in A&E departments. acquiring the skills to care for injured, sick and vulnerable children.
Her love for assessing and educating people have been consolidated through working in community based positions, most recently with Looked After Children in London’s third largest borough. This role involved training foster careers and social workers about basic life support, first aid, child development and childhood injury and illnesses. Claire’s expertise has been strengthened by the undertaking of her Master’s Degree in Child Protection and Complex Child Care at the Tavistock and Portman Centre in London in 2008.
Claire continues to keep her skills updated with various training courses PILS (Paediatric Intermediate Life Support, AIM (Acute Illness Management Course) and first aid related conferences, courses and study days. This growing body of experience has given Claire and her team the motivation and expertise unique to Child Matters.
Claire is the proud Mum to 3 young girls. Her eldest, now 10, is an Asthmatic with Anaphylaxis, with a range of severe allergies. As a mum, Claire understands the anxieties that come with having a child with medical issues and this evokes the passion to train more people.
Leanne qualified as a children’s nurse in September 2001 from the University of Leeds. She has since gained experience working in general paediatric wards in Leeds and London. Leanne moved to London in 2002 and discovered her passion was working with sick children in intensive care and has since gained a degree and MSC in children’s nursing. Leanne is also a qualified nursing mentor and has published articles relating to nursing practice in various professional magazines and contributed 2 chapters to a children’s high dependency nursing textbook.
Following the birth of her first child in 2011 Leanne soon realised that there was a need to educate parents and carers of children in basic first aid following several incidents within her NCT group. Leanne then trained as an Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) instructor which has allowed her to provide training to doctors and nurses regarding advanced techniques in resuscitating children in life threatening situations.
Since meeting Claire and the Child Matters team, she has been inspired by her passion to share her nursing skills with non medical professionals. Leanne then joined Child Matters in 2016 and has been delighted to deliver many first aid training courses, sharing her knowledge and experience, she also continues to work within a children’s intensive care unit. Leanne is excited to see individuals gain knowledge and skills in emergency first aid provision as well as dealing with illness and injury in children. As a mum of 3 children she understands how important it is that those being trusted with the care of children are adequately trained.
Sarah qualified as an Adult Registered General Nurse/Dip HE at the Royal Free Hospital, London in 1997, starting her career in the Emergency Department. Despite specialising in adult nursing, Sarah loved working with children and their families and worked as a dual paediatric and adult nurse in ED. Based in London for many years, her skills were enhanced further moving to NICU where she gained her ICU/Critical Care course. Sarah moved back to ED at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington before moving to Wexham Park Hospital in 2006. Sarah is now working as a Nurse Practitioner in a busy GP surgery in Maidenhead.
Sarah has an ongoing passion for learning and training; she is currently undertaking her nurse prescribing module at Master’s degree level at Bucks University.
Sarah jumped at the chance to join the Child Matters team, having orked together in A&E. “I loved the idea that we could bring a wealth of experience and learning to people in the community, local business and young families” Sarah says “The feedback we get is always positive that it was engaging and lots of fun, most of all people we train love that we bring our very real nursing experience in to our training which gives people confidence and the ability to cope in emergencies”
First Aid training is such a passion Sarah is a volunteer First Aid lead (under 16s) at Maidenhead Rugby Club where she regularly trains staff and parents, organises tournaments and can regularly be seen looking after players on the muddy pitches with her first aid kit!
Sarah is a proud mum to three amazing children and also knows the challenges parenting brings, particularly when children are unwell.
After working in various Marketing and Admin roles in large companies, I decided it was time to utilise my writing skills and put them to work supporting a small local business and fellow working mum. As a part-time role it fitted perfectly too with dividing my time between work, elderly parents and my daughter.
At Child Matters, I regularly write blogs for our website and post on various social media platforms to share our knowledge, information about our courses and medical expertise with the public. I provide admin support too such as ensuring Claire’s students receive their certificates and get booked onto future classes. My daughter and I have attended Claire’s first aid classes ourselves and are now competent first aiders too! I think. What amazed me was how quickly children learn basic life-saving skills, ask lots of sensible questions and have so much fun. It’s brilliant being part of that experience.
I’ve loved working for Claire at Child Matters. Her passion to teach is infectious and I love being part of a local business that strives to ensure all members of its community; parents, grandparents, childcarers, teachers and children are confident and capable in delivering first aid, understanding common childhood illnesses and most importantly knowing what to do in a medical emergency.
Will is a specialist paramedic and advanced practitioner with more than 10 years’ experience with the NHS working in emergency and primary care. He has developed a broad clinical background across emergency & urgent care settings, GP practices, and clinical education, and now brings that experience into first aid training.
Will has a real passion for helping people feel confident when responding to illness or injury in children and adults. He enjoys delivering engaging, practical training that combines real clinical experience with a friendly and approachable style, helping learners feel prepared for emergencies.
As a parent of a young son, Will understands the worries and responsibilities that come with caring for children, and this fuels his commitment to training more people in first aid. He continues to build on his knowledge through ongoing professional development and is committed to high-quality, evidence-based training.
Outside of work, Will enjoys singing, music, and family life.
Jacqui served for 30 years as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police, where her passion for first aid began at just 18 years old. Representing the MPS in first aid competitions sparked a lifelong commitment to the subject, and in 1999 she became a qualified first aid trainer. Throughout her policing career, she played a key role in first aid delivery, including helping to develop a ballistic trauma course and later training new first aid instructors. As a police officer, and later authorised firearms officer, she also put these skills into practice operationally and was commended for saving a person’s life through CPR.
Since leaving the police, Jacqui has continued to dedicate herself to first aid training. In January 2021, she began volunteering with the East of England Ambulance Service as a Co-Responder, regularly carrying out shifts on an ambulance. She is passionate about the difference first aid skills can make and is especially keen to inspire younger generations to learn them. As part of this commitment, she has delivered free first aid sessions within her local community, including for teenagers.
Jacqui first met Claire and the Child Matters team at a conference in 2021, where she was immediately drawn to Claire’s ethos and professional background. She was delighted to be invited to deliver training for Child Matters.
As a proud mum of two, Jacqui has always made sure that anyone caring for her children was properly trained to deal with emergencies. That personal experience gives her a deep appreciation of the trust placed in those who care for others, and she considers it a privilege to help equip them with the skills and confidence to respond when it matters most.”
With a career dedicated to supporting children’s learning, development, and wellbeing, I have extensive experience in the childcare and education sector. My background includes working as an Early Years practitioner, Teaching Assistant Tutor, and Assessor, where I have had the privilege of helping both children and education professionals develop the skills and confidence needed to thrive.
Today, I specialise as a First Aid Instructor, with a primary focus on paediatric first aid. I am passionate about equipping parents, carers, childcare professionals, and educators with the knowledge and practical skills needed to respond confidently in emergency situations involving babies and children.
My training sessions are engaging, supportive, and designed to provide learners with real-world skills that can make a critical difference when it matters most. I believe that high-quality first aid training not only meets professional requirements but also helps create safer environments for children and greater peace of mind for those who care for them.