Online Mental Health First Aid

It typically takes 15hrs for a learner to complete the course. This is structured for the learner in the following way: 

− Individual learning – 1hr
− Live session one – 1hr 45min
− Individual learning – 2hrs
− Live session two – 2hrs 20min
− Individual learning – 2hrs
− Live session three – 2hrs
− Individual learning – 2hrs
− Live session four – 1hr 55min 

Every live session includes a 10min break. 2 Individual learning will be a mix of reading, videos, and workbook activities.

The instructor for the course is Chris Madden - an experienced British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) registered counselling psychotherapist and certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor. 

Chris is also Student Wellbeing Officer at Backstage Academy.

The MHFA England Online Learning Hub is an integrated learning platform that provides a one-stop 'hub' for learners. From one login, learners can access, interact with, and complete their learning modules for both their individual learning and instructor-led live sessions.

Once you have booked a place on the course, you will receive an invitation with a link to the Online Learning Hub as well as login details. 

Should you have any issues please get in touch.

The course consists of four live sessions led by an MHFA England Instructor Member, and four individual learning sessions. These are to be completed outside of, and prior to, the live sessions.

You will be able to access the course materials via the Online Learning Hub from once the course is fully set up and you are registered, until a month after the course has completed. You will also have access to the printed Adult MHFA Manual, Workbook and ALGEE card to refer to at any time, including before, during, and after the course.

As a learner, as with any of our courses, you can capture any accessibility needs when you register for a course and this will be shared with your Instructor Member. Your instructor will then contact you ahead of the course to chat through and agree any adjustments that will support your learning experience. If you need to chat through any accessibility needs, or need any support at any time, please get in touch.

Once you are booked onto a course, you will receive an email from Backstage Academy. This email will contain the live session dates and times, as well as a link inviting you to the course on the MHFA England Online Learning Hub. 

Once you have been invited to the MHFA England Online Learning Hub, you will receive an email inviting you to join the online course area within the learning platform. 

By registering for the course, you will automatically be sent a manual and workbook in the post. You will need these for the live sessions and to complete your individual learning. 

You can access your individual learning within the hub by clicking on ‘Courses Assigned to Me’. This contains instructions of every individual learning activity that needs to be completed before each live session. 

You will need to log onto the MHFA England Online Learning Hub system for your live sessions on the dates and times set by Backstage Academy. You can also use your login to complete the individual learning in between each live session as directed. 

At the end of live session four, you will receive an automated email with a link to complete a course evaluation survey. Once submitted, you will then be able to download your e-certificate for completing the course.

There are four individual learning modules to complete, including one that needs to be completed before the first live session. Although this can be completed in a minimum of one hour, we aim to get the printed materials to you a week before the first live session so that you have plenty of time to complete the individual learning. Our printed manual and workbook will provide you with invaluable learning and reference materials that are yours to keep. 

You will struggle to optimise the live session if you haven’t completed your individual learning prior to attendance at the live session. You will also need to complete all individual learning activities to be marked as complete and issued with a certificate. 

You can check your individual learning progress via the Online Learning Hub, and your instructor will be monitoring to ensure that you have engaged with the materials. 

You will need to attend all four live sessions and complete all the individual learning BEFORE you can be marked as completed by your Instructor, to receive your MHFA England certificate. The course will remain live on the platform for one month after the last live date and you will need to contact us to discuss any live sessions you missed (additional charges may apply).

The ‘hard-copy’ materials such as workbook and course manual will be posted directly to the address you provide when signing up for the course. Please ensure you have these to hand for your individual learning prior to and when attending the live sessions.

We will send you detailed instructions about how to join before your first live session. These will be sent through the Online Learning Hub.

If you are not able or comfortable to participate in the course with your camera on, then this online version of our Mental Health First Aid course is not the right one for you. 

There is nothing more important than your wellbeing, and, just like the face-to-face Adult MHFA Two Day course, this course has been designed to ensure a safe environment for learners. One of the key safeguards is to ensure that Instructor. 

Members can see all learners and check for signs of anxiety or distress, which requires all learners to have their cameras turned on for live sessions.

The MHFA England Online Learning Hub works best when learners use Google Chrome as their internet browser. However, the hub can be used on Firefox and Edge, provided they are the most up to date versions of these browsers. The Online Learning Hub is compatible with Apple Mac, although not yet with Safari (coming soon). To ensure the best learning experience, we do not currently recommend connecting via tablet/iPad.

To ensure you have the best experience, we recommend checking your system requirements ahead of time. 

System Requirements 
In order to ensure a high-quality experience, your computer/phone/tablet and internet connection speed should meet the following recommended system requirements:

Overview
− Internet connection − broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE)
− Speakers and microphone* – built-in, USB plug-in, or wireless Bluetooth
− Webcam* - built-in, USB plug-in
*Webcam and microphone are only required for those speaking and broadcasting video. 

Windows 
To use the web platform, you’ll need:
− Windows 10, Windows 8 or 8.1, Windows 7
− Chrome, Firefox, Edge, IE11 (with client)
− Computer or laptop with Intel Pentium 4 processor or later that is SSE2 capable and 512 MB of RAM, or a Surface PRO 2 or Surface PRO 3 

Mac
To use on Mac, you’ll need:
− Mac OS X, macOS 10.9 or later
− Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari (coming soon)
− Intel processor 64-bit and 512 MB of RAM 

Linux
To use on Linux, you’ll need:
− Ubuntu 12.04, Mint 17.1, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4, Oracle Linux 6.4, CentOS 6.4, Fedora 21, OpenSUSE 13.2, ArchLinux (64-bit only) 7
 − Chrome, Firefox
− Intel Pentium 4 processor 

Chrome OS 
Works directly through the Chrome browser on laptops and tablets utilizing Chrome OS (Chromebooks).
− Chrome
− 2GB Ram 

iOS (iPhones and iPads)
To use on iPhone, you’ll need:
− iPhone 5S or later
− Safari
− iOS 11 or later
To use on iPad, you’ll need:
− iPad Mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad (2017) or later
− Safari
− iOS 11 or later 

Android (phones and tablets)
To use on Android phones or tablets, you’ll need:
− Android 4.0 or later
− Chrome 

Bandwidth Recommendations
The bandwidth is optimised to deliver the best experience based on your network:
− Participate with webcam and microphone: 2 Mbps upload, 2 Mbps download
− Participate with microphone: 1.5 Mbps upload, 2 Mbps download
− Participate without webcam or microphone: 1 Mbps upload, 2 Mbps download 

Firewall
To participate in a live session, please ensure that the location you are connecting from allows for the streaming and downloading of real time video.
− UDP
− TCP: 80, 443
− HTTP: 80, 443 

Cookies
Cookies must be enabled in order to use the Online Learning Hub. Extensions or browser configurations that block or disable cookies may prevent participants from joining a live session.

You will be invited to join the live sessions approximately 15min before the course starts. During this time, the instructor will make introductions and take you through what you need to do to get settled, including ensuring the technology is working correctly.

There is nothing more important than your wellbeing, and, just like the face-to-face Adult MHFA Two Day course, this course has been designed to create a safe learning environment for learners, and to ensure that learners are always supported. 

Key safety features of the product that support your learner safety are: 

− A group learning agreement
– including confirming with all learners whether the live sessions can be recorded or not
− Clear opt-out points for learners who do not feel comfortable taking part in a particular activity
− Guidance for how you can ask the instructor for help - prior to, during and after a live session
− Guidance for instructors when a learner asks for help or chooses to leave a live session
− Clear signposting for you to sources of help and advice outside of the course

You should raise this with the instructor as soon as you have an issue finding anything required for the course. You can do so by messaging them directly or raising it on camera should you feel comfortable doing so.

No, you will not be able to record the sessions as other learners will be present and may be sharing potentially sensitive and personal information. As with all our courses, we encourage open and free discussions and want people to feel secure that these are private and protected conversations. 

There would also be a need for GDPR consent from all participants as well as the protection of MHFA England’s intellectual property.

At the end of live session four, we will mark you as having completed the course, and you will receive an automated email with a link to complete a course evaluation survey. Once submitted, you will then be able to download your e- certificate for completing the course.

As the content of the online and face-to-face versions of the Mental Health First Aid course are very similar, you would not need to repeat the course. We do however recommend you attend one of our half day Refresher courses every year, as well as repeating the full Mental Health First Aid course (either online or face-to-face) every three years.

The Online Mental Health First Aid course has been developed to ensure that our proven Mental Health First Aid training can continue to be delivered where social distancing measures may prevent face-to-face delivery. We have taken the time to tailor the learner experience to suit the online environment and are confident that the Online Mental Health First Aid course delivers the same learning outcomes as the face-to-face Adult MHFA Two Day course. 

It is not a replacement for our face-to-face classroom based Adult MHFA Two Day course. However, it will be a permanent alternative option for delivery. This course can be delivered where classroom learning may not be possible, or when clients or learners would prefer the alternative accessibility and flexibility of an online course delivering the same learning outcomes.