Drowning Prevention Week
June 19th 2021, marks the start of Drowning Prevention Week, so we invited Helen Bull, our National Commercial Aquatics Manager, to share a few words about how swimming lessons can help save lives. For more on our children’s swimming lessons, click here - Enquire Now
Over to Helen Bull to tell us more…
As I sit here preparing June’s lesson plans for our swimming teachers, it dawns on me what a hugely significant month this is.
Drowning Prevention Week is June 19 to 26 but for us at the More Swimming Academy at Tenterden Leisure Centre, it is so much more than just a week.
Why learn to swim?
We currently teach close to 30,000 children a week nationally in our More Swimming Academy. We have a huge responsibility to ensure these children get all the skills they need to be safe in and around water.
I often reflect on the reasons that drive a parent to sign their children up to swimming lessons. We know many parents want their children to learn to swim or to have a skill for life. But I’m not sure every parent realises the importance of their child learning to swim.
Being able to swim is a skill that could one day save your life or the life of someone you are with. In addition to my day job, I am a trustee for the Royal Life Saving Society UK, and I see data and details relating to drownings that give me sleepless nights.
Swimming lessons are an important life skill
We always teach water safety in our swimming lessons, but in June there is a greater focus on this. Around 44% of accidental drownings happen between May and September.
This month our lessons will consist of additional teaching practises relating to drowning prevention. We will make sure that children understand those rules relating to swimming such as never swimming alone and not using inflatables in the sea (save that inflatable unicorn for a pool!).
Our swimming teachers are highly trained and will teach physical skills such as treading water and how to float if you get into difficulty in the water.
We don’t just stop there though – we make sure these skills are practiced time and time again, so children become confident about what to do in an emergency. We also hope that children will go home after their swimming lessons and talk about the skills they have learnt with their family.
We are here to help
Many adults in the UK won’t have received any drowning prevention education and so our role is so much bigger than just teaching the children.
More than 55% of parents in a recent RLSS UK survey said they would not be confident their child would know what to do if they fell into open water.
We all have a part to play in delivering drowning prevention education. Our ultimate goal is for there to be no further drownings. Whilst progress has been made in recent years, on average 402 UK and Irish citizens drown each year. This is still a horrifying number.
I am very proud of the work that we do at the More Swimming Academy and we will continue to work hard in our goal to educate as many people as possible in drowning prevention.
Our swimming lessons
We pride ourselves on delivering high quality swimming lessons in a relaxed, fun environment, with fully-qualified instructors to help you every splash of the way, whether you’re looking to learn a life skill or become more confident in the water.
Find out more today about how we can get you started on your swimming journey - Enquire Now