More Victorian children are learning how to help in an emergency before they even start school, as demand for St John Ambulance Victoria’s Kindergarten First Aid Program continues to grow across the state.

Since launching as a pilot expansion in 2025, the program has already reached more than 1,000 kindergarten children across 51 early learning centres, introducing preschool-aged children to lifesaving skills through fun, age-appropriate education.

But with expressions of interest arriving almost weekly, St John Ambulance Victoria is now facing growing waiting lists from centres eager to take part.

“Our kindergartens are telling us they want this, they need this, and right now, demand is growing faster than we can deliver,” said St John Ambulance Victoria CEO, Gordon Botwright.

“Early learning centres are often the first place children spend time independently outside the home. That makes them the perfect environment to introduce simple first aid awareness, safety and the confidence to seek help.”

Building lifesaving habits from the very beginning

Designed specifically for children aged four years old, the Kindergarten First Aid Program introduces basic emergency concepts through storytelling, role play and hands-on activities delivered by specially trained St John volunteers.

The sessions focus on helping children:

• recognise when someone is hurt
• understand danger and safe behaviours
• seek help from a trusted adult
• understand that calling Triple Zero (000) is how emergencies are managed

The program forms part of St John Ambulance Victoria’s broader mission to build safer, more resilient communities through accessible first aid education.

By introducing these concepts before children begin primary school, St John hopes to create a lifelong understanding that helping others safely can save lives.

“You’re never too young to learn how to help,” Mr Botwright said.

“If we want safer communities and more lives saved in the future, this is where it starts.”

Growing demand highlights a gap in early years education

The rapid growth of the kindergarten program reflects increasing recognition from educators that first aid education should begin earlier in a child’s development.

In 2025 alone, St John Ambulance Victoria delivered free first aid education to more than 81,000 Victorian primary school students. However, the kindergarten expansion remains in its early stages, with available resources unable to keep pace with demand.

Educators across Victoria are increasingly viewing first aid as an essential part of wellbeing and safety learning, helping children build confidence, empathy and awareness from a young age.

The program has also created new volunteer opportunities, with more than 50 St John volunteers supporting early years education delivery throughout 2025.

Creating safer communities through education

For more than 140 years, St John Ambulance Victoria has worked to strengthen community resilience through first aid training, emergency response and volunteer service.

The organisation believes early childhood represents one of the most important opportunities to embed safe behaviours and positive helping habits before children gain greater independence later in life.

As interest in the Kindergarten First Aid Program continues to grow, St John Ambulance Victoria is calling for additional funding and partnership support to help expand the initiative and reduce waiting lists, ensuring more Victorian children can access free, face-to-face lifesaving education.

Kindergartens interested in participating can learn more via St John Ambulance Victoria Kindergarten First Aid Program.

An article about St John Kinder Program was also published on the Herald Sun: St John first aid classes for kindergarten children surge in Vic | Herald Sun