To think this is going to look so bad and I will be viewed poorly by new employer

Is it that you misunderstood the questions? I recently did a first aid course and had to read through some of the questions a few times to check I was answering them in the right way. I always have to think carefully with the "what should you not do" style questions.

Hope they're helpful on the phone on Monday.

Its compulsary for all Nursery Care staff to have Pediatric 1st aid training but only a legal requirement that 1 member of staff has an up to date training certificate at all times.
So technically a nursery could have all staff doing training at same time but then annually only have 1 or 2 members of staff annually updating their training as long as these staff members are on premises at all times.

I'd put it down to nerves and ask to do it again (then u can study while waiting)

I'm sure they've had this before so just explain you were a few marks off the pass rate. Revise and do it again. Good luck. Xx

I doubt this is true unless you have a lot of unqualified staff (and therefore not following the correct qualified to unqualified ratios) or a lot of staff who qualified before 2016 and are refusing to redo it.

Any staff member who holds a L2 or L3 from 2016 onwards needs paediatric first aid to be counted in the qualified ratio. Any qualified from before 2016 should also have up to date PFA but it’s not a legal requirement.

Yes, this is going to look poorly on you. Assuming you’re qualified, you wouldn’t be able to be counted in qualified ratio as you need first aid for this.

I would be looking at terminating your employment if you couldn’t pass first aid as I wouldn’t feel confident you know what to do in an emergency. As a mother, I wouldn’t want you with my daughters in an emergency.

It's worth pointing out that the law was changed due to campaigning by a mother and father who lost their baby to a choking incident at nursery where not enough employers were first aid trained.

Tbf the course seems poorly administered. Normally it would be split into two hour sessions, one theory which breaks down most of the common injuries/illnesses and symptoms and how to administer first aid, followed by a test. Another session (ideally after the first session and passing of the test) which recaps the basics and then focuses on the practical aspect, recovery position , CPR, defib, Heimlich manoeuvre, bandaging etc.

Having them both on the same day(how long for) with random information being thrown in, people talking, random anecdotes etc. could make it tricky for some people to sort through all that information at the end and answer promptly and accurately. Plus some questions are like what does this abbreviation stand for and you get 4 very similar answers.

If I was a nursery owner/manager who had just taken someone on who failed they first aid training twice, yes, I'm afraid I'd be concerned. Their job wouldn't be at risk at this stage, but I would definitely by pressing more training on them until they passed, and if probably check on their retention over the next 12 months.

First aid competence has to be an absolute priority. It's no good there being one first aider at the other end of the building when a one year old is choking in the baby room.
If there's an accident, it's vital that the nursery can be sure that their staff did everything right.

OP, I would do some studying so you know the answers inside out, and then you won't be so nervous when you take the test again. Talk to your boss, I would expect she'll send you on the course again.

@Blushingm - in that case she needs to pass the paediatric course within 3 months of starting work.

From what I understand, the only having one qualified person onsite is to cover settings such as schools, who could just have teachers and nobody who needs paediatric first aid to validate their qualification. If the OP doesn't hold paediatric first aid then her qualification won't be full and relevant.
^
From the Gov website:^ Paediatric first aid (PFA)
Newly qualified staff with a level 2 or level 3 early years qualification, awarded after 30 June 2016, must also have either a full paediatric first aid (PFA) or an emergency PFA certificate within 3 months of starting work. If they do not have this you cannot count them in the EYFS staff:child ratios at level 2 or level 3.

She's not a nursery assistant, she's a practitioner. 1st aid is essential!

I'm assuming this is the first time you've done the first aid course and so aren't yet fully qualified as a L3 practitioner?

If you're employed as unqualified, don't worry about it, the nursery will have sufficient qualified staff, and hopefully next time you do the course you'll be more familiar with what the answers should be.

Was it a one day course? I would expect a paediatric first aid course to be two days, but maybe things have changed since I last did one.

I'd not want my child at that nursery!

All staff should be able to do basic first aid - accidents, choking etc.

As a nursery practitioner first aid is essential - I doubt you can work without it

So? It’s their own lookout if they fail to keep their own child safe.

But you can become a parent without any first aid qualification at all.

Could you go with a different first aid training provider? I have attended one and two day training events with St John and I don't recall a written test (only practical skill test) at the end.

That’s really appalling

Holy shit @Itiswhatitis80 really? Look I agree with others it falls out of your head, like the driver theory test over here but I know every year or so we have inset days for this reason.. it's never been needed but it's still a good idea to have the basics

OP some people are a bit panicky with tests, multiple choice can make you overthink & second guess yourself & you passed the physical part, which I've found harder, just try again & revise

It’s not ideal. But it really depends on whether the employer sees this as “that’s okay, not everyone passes the first time, you can try again next month” or whether it’s “gosh this is just basic common sense stuff that everyone should know.” And you’re not going to know until you get in there tomorrow.

But I would say as long as you haven’t misrepresented your experience, skills, qualifications etc during the hiring process, you will most likely be fine.

Poor nurseries. Good nurseries wouldn't hire someone who doesn't have what they deem an essential part of the role.

At my DC's nursery, they are all qualified in first aid. It was one of the questions I asked before agreeing to send them there.

I would honestly just blame the 'new job' nerves. Don't go down the route of saying that you're not good with tests in general, as this will be viewed less sympathetically.
Best of luck for next time!

Obviously it's not going to be viewed well. The nursery will want everyone trained for several reasons, but on a practical level it will mainly affect whether they need to think about the requirement when doing the rota. It may also make them concerned you won't be able to progress.

Presumably you have other qualifications? How have you managed to get through those tests? Maybe go to your manager on Monday and tell them you have difficulties with tests but X is how you overcome them and see if you can work out how you can apply that to the first aid test.

If your issue is that you forget everything you knew when you're staring at the page - that used to be me. I used to get very nervous in exams that were important and go blank when staring at the question sheet - I could answer things easily outside the test environment but it all went flying when I sat down with that question paper. I found practicing in a test environment (important - just sitting with exam papers at the kitchen table didn't help, it had to be in an official room, silent, no phone, clock on the wall ticking away, ideally with someone "invigilating", etc.) really helped. I would sit in the practice and talk myself into taking my time, going through whatever mnemonics I'd practiced, jotting down as soon as I got in whatever important facts/formulas/etc. I was liable to forget, reading the whole exam paper, etc. Doing that a lot (and I mean a huge amount) enabled me to do the same on real tests. I don't go blank anymore.

I know it's hard but try not to let it get you down. It's probably stress that makes it so difficult and being more stressed will just make things worse.

For the purposes of tonight I wouldn't worry. I don't think your job is at risk. But as a person that is working with young children I suggest you make a point of learning all the health and safety so you can ace the test next time and, more importantly, keep those children safe.