Hippo Training

19/05/2026

Another fantastic session delivered recently by Stephen over at Didsbury for the team at Great Places Housing Group working alongside the brilliant Mike Manning Consultancy & Training Ltd

At Hippo Training, we’re incredibly proud to work in partnership with organisations that genuinely value safety, education and protecting both their staff and the communities they support.
Sharps Awareness training is about so much more than ticking boxes. It’s about building confidence, increasing situational awareness and helping people recognise hazards before incidents happen.

The hidden sharps exercise always proves to be a real eye-opener and this group did brilliantly identifying every single one, proving exactly why vigilance and awareness matter so much in frontline environments.

A huge thank you again to Great Places Housing Group and MMCT for having us involved in such an important piece of training.

If your organisation would benefit from practical, engaging Sharps Awareness training, we’d love to hear from you.

15/05/2026

A very full week of training finishes today with Stephen delivering an Immediate Life Support (ILS) course in Lancashire for a highly experienced multidisciplinary team of Doctors, Consultants and Nurses within an independent specialist healthcare setting.

Working alongside organisations such as Kasrob Group continues to be something we are incredibly proud of, particularly when there is such a strong shared focus on patient safety, clinical excellence and meaningful professional development.

Stephen's background and specialist interests within emergency response, resuscitation and high-pressure clinical decision-making bring a practical, real-world approach to these sessions that consistently encourages engagement and discussion, regardless of experience level.

At Hippo Training, we strongly believe that high-quality resuscitation training is about far more than compliance. It is about helping professionals build confidence, communication, leadership and the ability to respond calmly and effectively when patients need them most.

No matter how experienced a team may be, there is always value in revisiting core principles, refining teamwork and reinforcing those early interventions that can make such a critical difference to patient outcomes.
A fantastic way to round off a busy week of training.

If your organisation is looking for realistic, engaging and clinically focused Immediate Life Support or emergency care training, we would be delighted to support you.

12/05/2026

Mental Health Awareness Week feels like a good reminder that mental health isn’t something that only matters when people are visibly struggling.

Sometimes it’s the colleague who seems “fine”.
The person who keeps showing up.
The one making everyone else laugh.
The one carrying pressure quietly.

At Hippo Training, we spend a lot of time working alongside people in healthcare, education, care, housing and frontline roles, environments where people are often supporting others whilst trying to hold themselves together too.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme focuses on taking action. Not grand gestures. Just meaningful ones.

Checking in with somebody properly.
Taking a break without guilt.
Asking for help earlier.
Creating workplaces where people feel safe to speak honestly.

Awareness matters, but everyday conversations matter too.

If you or someone you know needs support, there are some excellent organisations and free resources available:

🧠 Mental Health Foundation
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week

💙 Mind
Mind UK www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week

📞 Samaritans (24/7 support)
Samaritans www.samaritans.org

🌱 NHS Mental Health Support
NHS Every Mind Matters www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters

🤝 Mental Health UK
Mental Health UK mentalhealth-uk.org/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-days/mental-health-awareness-week

So a small reminder that people are often carrying more than we realise, including ourselves.

05/05/2026

There’s something really special about working with clients over the long term 💛

Last week, Stephen spent two days delivering our Paediatric First Aid (FAA Level 3) course with the wonderful team at Tiddlywinks Nursery Group Crumpsall, a partnership that’s been going strong for over 10 years.

Honestly … it shows.

The confidence, the teamwork, the way staff approach every scenario with calmness and care. It’s exactly what happens when training isn’t just a one-off, but something that’s invested in properly over time.

Because when it comes to children, it’s never just about ticking a box.

It’s about knowing you’re ready if something happens.
We absolutely love supporting teams like this 👏

If you run a nursery, school or childcare setting and want your team to feel this confident too, we’d love to help.

Pop us a message to chat about upcoming courses 📩

30/04/2026

It’s Allergy Awareness Week and allergy safety in schools has never been more important.

Following the announcement of Benedict’s Law, schools will soon be expected to strengthen allergy safety measures, including staff awareness training, clear allergy policies and access to life-saving medication.

For children at risk of anaphylaxis, confidence and quick action can make all the difference.

At Hippo Training, we offer two levels of training to help schools, childcare settings and organisations feel prepared:

🟢 2-Hour Allergy & Anaphylaxis Awareness Session

Ideal for general staff awareness and understanding. This session covers:

• recognising allergic reactions and anaphylaxis
• understanding common triggers
• emergency response procedures
• using adrenaline auto-injectors safely
• building confidence in responding quickly

🟢 Half-Day Anaphylaxis Management Course

A more in-depth practical course designed for those with greater responsibility for care and emergency response. This includes:

• detailed recognition of severe allergic reactions
• practical use of auto-injectors
• emergency first aid response
• CPR awareness
• ongoing casualty care until emergency services arrive

Both courses are delivered by experienced trainers with real-world emergency response backgrounds and are designed to give delegates practical, usable confidence not just theory.

When it comes to anaphylaxis, preparation matters.

📩 Get in touch with Hippo Training to discuss the right course for your school, nursery or organisation.

30/04/2026

Recently, we had the pleasure of delivering Day 1 of our 2 Day Paediatric First Aid course at St Catherine’s RC Primary School in Didsbury.

It’s always a privilege to work alongside schools that take the safety and wellbeing of their pupils as seriously as we do. Our ongoing partnership with St Catherine’s reflects a shared commitment to making sure staff have the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to step in when it matters most.

Day 1 focused on the foundations of paediatric emergency care, which is recognising when a child is seriously unwell, understanding how situations can escalate, and delivering those critical early interventions that can genuinely make a difference in the first few minutes.

The engagement from the team was excellent. You can always tell when safeguarding isn’t just a policy, but something people genuinely care about and that definitely came across here.

Looking forward to heading back for Day 2 and building on this with more hands-on scenarios and life-saving skills.

If your school still needs to get staff trained before the summer term, now is the time to get it booked in. Dates are filling up quickly, and we’re already planning ahead for the next intake.

Drop us a message if you want to get something in the diary 👍

30/04/2026

29/04/2026

April was Stress Awareness Month but in our world, managing stress isn’t optional. It’s critical.

In an emergency, it’s rarely the textbook knowledge that fails people.

It’s the pressure.

The racing thoughts.

The hesitation.

The “what do I do first?” moment.

When something serious happens, whether it’s a cardiac arrest, a severe bleed, or a sudden collapse stress is the first thing that shows up. If it’s not managed, it can stop people from acting altogether.

That’s why at Hippo Training, we don’t just teach what to do.

We focus on how people perform under pressure.

✔️ Building confidence through realistic scenarios
✔️ Repetition that turns knowledge into instinct
✔️ Creating calm, structured responses in high-stress situations
✔️ Supporting individuals before, during and after an incident

First aid isn’t just physical, it’s psychological too and when people feel prepared, they act faster, think clearer and make better decisions when it matters most.

If your team might ever be first on scene, the question isn’t just “are they trained?”

👉 It’s “are they confident enough to act under pressure?”

That’s the difference that saves lives.

22/04/2026

Sharps injuries are a risk many organisations underestimate until it’s too late.

Brilliant to see Great Places Housing Group continuing to prioritise the safety of their teams, with another Sharps Awareness session delivered by Stephen in Didsbury alongside Mike Manning Consultancy and Training.

What makes this training so important is the reality of who it protects.

From maintenance teams working in void properties, to housing officers visiting communal areas, to office-based staff who may still encounter risk. Sharps awareness isn’t role-specific, it’s organisation-wide.

Because the consequences are serious.

Exposure to blood-borne viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV is a very real risk when sharps are not identified or handled correctly.

That’s why this training focuses on more than just theory.

✔️ Recognising risk in real-world environments

✔️ Safe and appropriate response

✔️ Preventing exposure before it happens

✔️ Building confidence across teams

Most importantly, it creates a culture where safety is shared and not assumed.

If your teams:

• Work in housing, maintenance or facilities

• Enter void properties or communal spaces

• Could encounter discarded sharps in any setting

…then this training isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s essential.

👉 Get in touch to book Sharps Awareness training for your team and ensure they’re protected, prepared and confident.

10/04/2026

This week Hippo Training delivered a FAA Level 3 Award in Paediatric First Aid for the team at Tiddlywinks Nursery Group in Clayton.

Tiddlywinks Nursery Group are one of our longest-standing clients and it’s a partnership we’re incredibly proud of. For almost a decade, Stephen James Lawson MIFSM AIIRSM has been delivering first aid training for their teams, helping ensure staff maintain the knowledge, confidence and practical skills required to respond to emergencies involving children.

The Ofqual-regulated Level 3 Paediatric First Aid qualification is the recognised standard for early years settings and covers a wide range of real-world scenarios including:

• Infant and child CPR
• Safe use of an AED
• Choking management
• Primary survey and emergency assessment
• Bleeding, burns and trauma
• Recognition of serious illness and medical emergencies in children

The group this week were fantastic – highly engaged and fully committed to the practical elements of the course, which is where confidence is really built.
What makes working with Tiddlywinks particularly special is their commitment to safeguarding beyond the nursery environment.

Alongside regulated staff training, Stephen also delivers first aid sessions for parents, helping families feel more confident responding to emergencies at home.

Early years settings must meet high safety standards, the reality is that many childhood accidents happen outside of professional environments.

Training both staff and parents helps create a wider safety net around the children in their care.

Thank you to the whole Tiddlywinks team for their continued commitment to keeping children safe.

If your nursery, school or childcare setting needs Ofqual-regulated Paediatric First Aid training, we’d be happy to help.

Hippo Training delivers practical, scenario-based courses designed to build real confidence, not just tick compliance boxes.

We also offer first aid awareness sessions for parents and carers, helping extend that safety net beyond the workplace.

📩 Get in touch with the team or visit www.hippotraining.co.uk
to find out more.