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UK Grassroots Concussion Course

FREE
Coaches, Teachers, Parents, Players  · Based on UK Government Guidance
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Free Course

Concussion Training for UK Grassroots Sport

At grassroots level there is usually no doctor, no physio and no medic anywhere near the touchline, which means the person who has to spot a concussion and decide what happens next is whoever is standing there. Quite often, that is you.

We built this course together with four other UK concussion organisations so that you know what to look for and what to do about it. Every module is based on the UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport, and the whole thing is free.
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What You Will Be Able to Do

Recognise It, Act on It, and Know What Comes Next

  • Spot a concussion even when nobody was hit in the head
  • Recognise the red flags that mean A&E straight away
  • Manage the first 48 hours the way the guidelines set out
  • Support return to learn, return to play and return to work
  • Understand your own role, whether you coach, teach, parent or play
  • See why symptoms settling is not the same as being recovered

Guidelines

Science

Recognition

First 48 Hours

Return to Learn

Return to Play

  • Coaches, Teachers, Parents, Players
  • Four Modules, Self-Paced
  • Based on UK Government Guidance
  • Completely Free
The Curriculum

Four Modules, In Order

Each module builds on the one before it, so we would suggest working through them in sequence. You can stop at any point and pick it back up whenever suits you.

01

Introduction and the UK Guidelines

What the UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport actually say, and the handful of key points that change how you act on the day.
  • Concussion is a brain injury and is not graded
  • Immediate removal, with no return the same day
  • Return to learn and work comes before sport

02

What Is a Concussion?

The science, kept plain. What actually happens inside the brain, how much force it takes, and why recovery outlasts the symptoms.
  • The two phases of the injury
  • Second impact syndrome
  • Why children concuss at lower forces

03

Recognition and Initial Management

Signs and symptoms, the red flags that mean A&E, suspected neck injuries, and exactly what happens across the first 48 hours.
  • Emergency red flags
  • Symptoms that appear a day or two later
  • Your role, set out role by role

04

Return to Activity and Sport

The six-stage graduated return programme, run in parallel for education or work and for sport, and what to do when symptoms carry on.
  • All six stages, and when to drop back one
  • The 21-day and 14-day thresholds
  • When symptoms have gone on too long
Who It's For

The people closest to the action.

Coaches

  • "He says he feels fine and wants to go back on. I cannot bench him for something I am not even sure was a concussion."
  • You will have a clear protocol and national guidance behind you, so the call stops being yours alone to defend.

Teachers and Schools

  • "A pupil came back after a concussion and nobody knew what adjustments she needed, or for how long."
  • The return to learn stages in plain terms, including why school comes before sport rather than after it.

Parents and Carers

  • "There is so much conflicting advice. Is this serious? Do we go to A&E? Can she go to school tomorrow?"
  • A calm, ordered answer to each of those questions, from the moment of injury through to return to sport.

Players and Students

  • "I was not sure it was a concussion, so I said nothing and finished the game."
  • Why coming off early usually gets you back on the pitch sooner, and how to speak up for a teammate.
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Your instructor

Donna Sanderson-Hull

Donna is a physiotherapist of 35 years with a Master’s in Sports and Exercise Medicine. She has worked across amateur and professional sport, including six seasons at Bristol Bears and a period with England Rugby, and has spent close to a decade treating and managing concussion in her own clinical practice.

Physiotherapist, 35 Years

MSc Sports and Exercise Medicine

Six Seasons, Bristol Bears

England Rugby

Complete Concussions

Love of the Game

A Collaborative UK Initiative

Built With Five Organisations

This programme was put together by organisations already working on concussion safety across the UK, including Love of the Game, the charity founded by British and Irish Lions player Simon Shaw. The aim we share is a simple one: protect the player, and you protect the sport.

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Are You a Healthcare Professional?

You are very welcome here, and there is real value in seeing how the guidelines land for the non-clinical people you rely on. This course is pitched at grassroots sport rather than clinical practice, though. If you are a physician, nurse, physiotherapist, sports therapist or other rehabilitation professional looking for training at a clinical level, the Complete Concussions certification programmes are built for you.

See Clinician Training
Questions

Before You Start

Is this concussion course really free?
Yes. The course is completely free, with no cost, no trial and nothing to purchase at any stage. It was created as a collaborative public education initiative by Complete Concussions, Love of the Game, ConcussED, Concussion Toolkit and Concussion Hotline.
Anyone involved in grassroots sport, which means coaches, teachers and PE staff, parents and carers, players and student athletes, referees and match officials, volunteers, and club welfare or safeguarding officers. The UK Concussion Guidelines make concussion recognition everyone’s responsibility, largely because most grassroots fixtures have no healthcare professional on site.

The UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport are UK Government guidance, first published in 2023 and updated in November 2024, covering how to recognise and manage concussion in non-elite sport. Their central message is “if in doubt, sit them out”.

 

Key points include the following: anyone with a suspected concussion must be removed from play immediately and must not return that day, return to education or work takes priority over return to sport, and there should be no return to competition before 21 days from injury.

There are four short modules, covering the guidelines, the science of concussion, recognition and initial management, and graduated return to activity and sport. Total run time is roughly 90 minutes, and you can stop and resume whenever you like.

No. More than 90% of concussions happen with no loss of consciousness at all. A concussion can also be caused by an impact to the body rather than the head, if the force whips the head and moves the brain inside the skull.

Remove the person from play straight away, and do not let them return that day even if they say they feel fine. Keep monitoring them for red flags across the first 24 to 48 hours, and arrange for an appropriate healthcare professional to assess them within 24 hours.

 

If there are red flags, which include repeated vomiting, a worsening headache, increasing drowsiness, a seizure, severe neck pain, weakness, double vision or difficulty speaking, go to A&E immediately.

Only after completing the graduated return to activity and sport programme in full. Under the UK guidelines, return to competition should not happen before 21 days from the date of injury, counting the day of injury as day zero, and only where there have been no symptoms for the previous 14 days and the person is symptom free during pre-competition training. A full return to education or work must come before a full return to training.
Healthcare professionals are welcome, and many find it useful for understanding what the non-clinical staff at their school or club are being taught. The course is designed for people without medical training, though. Clinicians looking for in-depth concussion management training should look at the Complete Concussions certification programmes.
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Not Sure Where to Begin?

Start with Module One and work through at whatever pace suits you. The course is free from beginning to end, and there is nothing to pay at any point.

Full Course, Lifetime Access

Free

No payment, no subscription, nothing hidden.
  • Four modules built on the UK Concussion Guidelines
  • Self-paced and online, so you can finish it tonight
  • Taught by a physiotherapist of 35 years
  • Free access to the Concussion Tracker app
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