Children should be taught lifesaving skills at school, according to a poll.

The survey, conducted by St John Ambulance, reveals that the vast majority of teachers (96 per cent) think that youngsters should learn basic first aid in the classroom.

The survey, conducted by the first aid charity, found that more than two thirds (67 per cent) of the teachers questioned said their school does not provide pupils with first aid training, while just a fifth (21 per cent) said that lessons in the subject were available for youngsters.

Of those that said no training was available, around a third suggested that this was due to lack of time, a similar proportion cited lack of staff training and 23 per cent said it was unavailable for cost reasons.

The poll, which questioned 1,157 teachers in England, also found that more than half think first aid would need to be part of the national curriculum in order for more schools to take the subject seriously, St John Ambulance said.

The charity said that too many lives are lost each year through a lack of first aiders and urged schools to take part in its first ever Big First Aid Lesson.

The Lesson, which is taking place on Friday June 20, is a one-hour online class aimed at seven to 16-year-olds that will be streamed live into classrooms.

Wendy Human, director of charitable initiatives and training at St John Ambulance, said: “At St John Ambulance we believe that first aid should be as much a part of growing up as learning to cross the road.

“It’s so easy to learn and can have such an incredible impact on people’s lives, but because it’s not compulsory on the national curriculum, only a minority of schoolchildren would know what to do if one of their classmates, or a member of their family, became ill or injured.

“It only takes an hour to learn how to save a life but it could be the most important lesson your students ever learn. We hope teachers take this opportunity and sign up for the Big First Aid Lesson.”