09 Aug 2021
Water Safety Week
Learning to swim is a vital life skill. Here at SafelySwim we are passionate about children learning to swim so that they can safely enjoy the water and all the benefits of regular exercise.
During the recent heat wave there seem to have been daily articles about people getting into difficulty around the water and some have tragically lost their lives. Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in the UK. Approximately four hundred people accidentally drown each year, that’s around one person every twenty hours. What is even worse is that 44% of these people who have lost their lives never intended to end up in the water.
These figures are really heart breaking, so at SafelySwim it made us question what we can do to help. Being able to swim is the most important thing for the children and young people who we teach. Swimming will give children the confidence to be able to enjoy the water safely but we don’t want to stop there. We know that children often won’t make the connection between elements which they have learnt in their swimming lesson and how to use them when in open and unfamiliar water.
During our final week of lessons before the summer break we will be taking the opportunity to focus on lifesaving elements and water safety during all sessions. Activities will be tailored for the stage of swimming which your child is currently at but will focus on key water safety messages, including RNLI’s “float to live”. This is something which can be achieved by all swimmers and will give them a better chance while rescuers get to them if they were to ever end up in water unintentionally. We will also be educating all of our swimmers on what to do if someone else gets into difficulty in the water and steps which they can take to ensure they are enjoying the water safely during a beach trip.
We are not aiming to scare anyone with these messages and will keep everything light hearted and fun in the hope that all of our families can enjoy the water safely this summer. If you have any questions at all before or after your child has participated in these sessions please ask their teacher for some advice or contact me via email and I will be able to advise you further.
Want to learn more? Read about why we practice Jumping In.
