The First Response Emergency Care (FREC 3) qualification is widely recognised across the pre-hospital care sector and is often required for roles in event medical cover, security, community response and outdoor activities. However, completing a traditional five day training block during the working week can be challenging for many learners.
To improve accessibility and reduce disruption to everyday commitments,, we have added some more dates to deliver the full FREC 3 course over two weekends, while maintaining the same regulated content and assessment standards
Why DAC Education Introduced a Weekend FREC 3 Option
Learners across Suffolk and nationwide often highlight a similar issue: attending a full week of training meant taking time off work, organising extra childcare or rearranging shift patterns.
By offering the FREC 3 course split across two weekends, we feel it provides an alternative that fits more easily around work and personal schedules.
This adjusted structure aims to:
Support people who cannot take five consecutive weekdays off
Provide a more flexible pathway to achieving a Level 3 pre-hospital care qualification
Maintain all existing learning outcomes while offering a different timetable
Make FREC 3 training in Suffolk more accessible to a wider range of learners
The course content and assessment criteria remain exactly the same as the original weekday format.
What does the First Response Emergency Care (FREC 3) Course Cover?
Whether taken during the week or over weekends, the FREC 3 course includes the full nationally recognised syllabus. Learners will explore key areas of emergency and pre-hospital care, including:
Scene safety and structured patient assessment
Managing trauma and medical emergencies
Airway management techniques and oxygen therapy
CPR and AED use
Catastrophic bleeding control
Administering safe, effective pre-hospital care
As with all our courses, practical scenarios remain central to the learning approach, allowing learners to develop confidence through hands-on experience and real life stories from our instructors.
Who Might Benefit from a weekend FREC 3 Course?
The two weekend format is particularly useful for:
Individuals working full-time or shift-based roles
People balancing family responsibilities
Those who prefer learning in shorter, spaced-out sessions
Learners seeking FREC 3 training in Suffolk without major schedule disruption
This structure provides flexibility while still delivering the complete, regulated First Response Emergency Care FREC 3 programme.
Supporting Accessible Pre-Hospital Care Training in Suffolk
The introduction of a weekend pathway for the FREC 3 course at DAC Education reflects our ongoing efforts to make pre-hospital care training more adaptable to modern working patterns. By offering more than one way to access the qualification, we aim to support learners across Suffolk and nationwide in developing essential emergency care skills without unnecessary barriers.
