Drowning Prevention Week in the U.K

With the arrival of Summer every year, the importance of water-safety gets more attention. National Drowning Prevention Week is an annual campaign centred around education of water safety by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS). From 15 to 22 June 2024, which is 2024 Drowning Prevention Week, different communities including our swim school promote awareness regarding water hazards as well as the importance of supervision and learning to swim and water-safety. Resources and activities released by different organisations like RLSS aid people to have a better understanding of how to be safe in swimming pools and open water like the sea and rivers.

What Parents Need to Know About Water-Safety

Drowning Prevention Week is a great time for parents to educate themselves and their kids on the importance of safety of being in and around water. During this week, parents can gain knowledge on how to best supervise your children when they are holidaying specially in summer. The importance of swimming lessons to improve swimming skills is highlighted. Parents can reduce the risk of drowning when holidaying by a pool or on a beach by being vigilant. But, it’s paramount for parents to know floatation devices like life jackets or armbands don’t replace swimming lessons.

Unfortunately, almost 50% of the world’s population cannot swim and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning accounts for an estimated 236,000 deaths each year around the world.

Learning to swim reduces the risk of drowning significantly.

During this week, you may find your children’s schools and nurseries or other organasations like their children swim schools also taking part in providing entertaining and educational activities that reinforce the importance of water safety to help keep children safe in Summer. At Blue Wave Swim School, we have always done different water-safety activities for Drowning Prevention Week, like how to ask for help from a lifeguard, swimming with clothes on, and how to help a weak swimmer without getting in water.

What Swim Teachers Do During Water-Safety Lessons

Here are a couple of water-safety activities that swim teachers can teach and practice:

• Reach and Throw, Don’t Go’

Objective: Teachers can show swimmers specially children how to safely help someone in water who is distressed. themselves

Activity: As shown in this video, one swimmer use a noodle or a rescue rope and one swimmer pretends to need help. Teachers let swimmers practice reaching out to tired or weak swimmers with an object. This could be with throwing a floating device or a rope. And then, pull distressed swimmers back to the pool’s edge.

• Floating and Treading Water

Objective: Build confidence and endurance in the water.

Activity: Swimmers practice floating on their back and front. Plus floating in an up-right position by practicing treading water by moving their palms in a circular motion and legs. Legs either doing cycling motion or whiskers kicks. Encourage swimmers to maintain up-right position for 30 seconds with heads out of the water.

Taking Swimming Lessons Over Summer

Swimming crash courses are four-to-five-day intensive programmes aimed at rapidly improving swimming
skills. Since lessons are conducted on consecutive days, crash courses are ideal for those who want an
efficient and effective boost in water confidence and swimming technique.

We will be running our 2024 Summer crash courses in Wimbledon from 22 July 2024 for four weeks. Crash courses are ideal for those struggling with water confidence, as intensive teaching allows for continuous exposure, meaning
there is less time between sessions and build up on progression made in each lesson. As our crash courses run over school holidays. Intensive courses are a practical option for those who have other commitments during the school year and missed on termly lessons.

Enquire About Summer Swimming Crash Course Here