ESSENTIAL equipment which could help save the lives of children has been installed at West Horndon Primary School after a huge fundraising effort.
Staff, parents, friends, relatives and the parish council joined forces to raise £1,000 to buy an automated external defibrillator.
Such devices can improve a person's chance of surviving cardiac arrest to more than 50 per cent.
Sarah French, whose children Rebecca, 9, and Adam, 5, attend the Thorndon Avenue school, is leading the fundraising campaign and ran the Brentwood 10k in October.
Mrs French is also the fundraising manager at SADS UK, a cardiac charity which is lobbying the Government to get a defibrillator into every school across the country.
She said: "I have worked at SADS UK for about four years now and we hear so often about parents who have lost children.
"They go to school in the morning and they sadly never come back home again."
Sponsors came forward to support the 38-year-old on her run, the school's parents association organised a quiz night and West Horndon Parish Council's Howard Memorial Trust, which provides small grants for worthy causes, also made an important contribution.
"I felt compelled to do this for the good of the community, as well as the fact that my own children are at the school," Mrs French said.
"I compare a defibrillator to a fire extinguisher in the sense that it should be on school premises to protect against loss of life."
Paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service visited the school yesterday to train staff on using the kit, which, when operated, features a series a voice prompts guiding the user through a lifesaving procedure.
So sophisticated is the technology that an electric shock will only be administered if absolutely necessary, according to the founder of SADS UK, Anne Jolly.
Through her nationwide Big Shock Campaign launched in 2010, Mrs Jolly and her team have already helped install the equipment into hundreds of schools including the Anglo-European School in Ingatestone and The Billericay School.
She said: "Every minute that goes by, the chances of a person in cardiac arrest surviving reduce by ten per cent, so treating someone as quickly as possible is vital.
"Using cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) alone provides a 5 per cent chance of survival but using the defibrillator as well increases the chance of survival to over 50 per cent.
"This is why SADS UK is so passionate about putting this lifesaving equipment in place."
West Horndon Primary School head teacher Matt O'Grady said: "We are delighted to have been able to work with SADS UK to raise funds to have a defibrillator placed within the school.
"As a village school this will not only provide peace of mind for our staff and pupils but for the community as a whole.
"It is great that the children, staff and parents alike have been involved in fundraising in order to secure its arrival.
"You never know who or when someone will benefit from its placement here. I hope we never have to use it – but we will be glad to know its here – just in case!"
