Not-for-profit organisation TOBE-Heartsafe www.tobe-heartsafe.org.uk uses ‘Restart a Heart day’ (16th October 2025) to support basic life supporting training across local communities confirming its ongoing partnership with The Golden Thread Alliance – a Multi Academy Trust with eight primary schools across Kent.
The TOBE medical team have been working with the Trust for over a year now having trained over 1,200 of its Year 5 and 6 students in basic lifesaving training (BLS). Thanks to TOBE’s fundraising efforts, it is offering parents, carers, and friends of Golden Thread Alliance schools free basic life support training that includes Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
The two free community days will be run in January 2026 at Golden Thread’s Dartford and Gravesend schools. Those attending the training will have the skills, knowledge, understanding and confidence in CPR and the safe use of an AED. The TOBE team is also planning to work with local sports clubs and academies in the area to offer free cardiac screening for 14-35 year olds, and is hoping to expand these plans nationwide in 2026.
Lucia Amato, TOBE’s Cardiac Nurse confirms its importance: “Survival rates can be as high as 60-70% in young people when resuscitation is started by bystanders but every minute that passes without chest compressions and defibrillation reduces their chance of survival by up to 10%. This training gives the participants the confidence and the ability to perform effective CPR.”
Garry Ratcliffe CEO of The Golden Thread Alliance confirmed: “We’re delighted that TOBE has chosen our wonderful extended community of parents, carers and friends of our schools to offer free training. We know from our lesson plans with the children that they offer a very comprehensive and informative programme, and those taking part will have the knowledge and skills that might just help save a life.”
Sam Richards, friend of The Golden Thread Alliance is a co-founder of TOBE-Heartsafe. Sam found her own son, 22 yr old Toby dead on his bedroom floor from an undiagnosed heart condition in 2019. At the time of death he was fitter and healthier than he’d ever been. His death was registered as SADS – Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.
That tragedy brought together a team of people and specialists who decided to form TOBE to raise awareness and expand cardiac screening and basic life support training services across the UK into local communities with its buy one, donate one model.
