Water safety practises I am focusing on this week

40 children drowned in England in 2024. Nine lives were lost in water related incidents just during the May half-term week this year. All reminding us that water safety education is vital and can never start too early on in a child’s life. 

There is a lot to teach in the national curriculum for swimming and water safety. Here are some of the things I am focusing on this week in my own lessons:

• Encouraging children to swim and practise water safety exercises without their goggles (you more than likely would not have your goggles on during a potential drowning incident)
• Allowing children to practise the rules around helping others – never go in after them, throw something that floats, talk to the person in the water, go and get help from a lifeguard, adult or emergency services
• Taking floating to the next level for those who have mastered it – scull with one hand and lift the other straight into the air to signal for help, shout loudly, plus how to and why you would transition between floats, treading water and swimming across longer distances
• Letting swimmers practise staying warm in an emergency situation – how to individually tuck into the ‘Heat Escape Lessening Posture’ and how to come together with others to huddle safely and get help
• Introducing swimmers to ‘survival swimming’ – how to swim with your head out of the water and why you might do this
• Talking about safety even more so to children who I identify as likely to be less aware in the moment of safety consequences (e.g. those who might run and jump into their lesson before I have said it is OK)

I love teaching water safety and children love learning it too. Whether you are a parent or teacher, join in Drowning Prevention Week by looking at my new water safety flash cards for children. Let’s kick start some discussion.

And if you haven’t booked your child into swim lessons yet – you know what to do.

#DrowningPreventionWeek