Drowning Prevention Week 2024 – learning a life skill
Drowning Prevention Week takes place this month on 15th to 22nd June. The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) deliberately times the Drowning Prevention Week campaign ahead of the school summer holidays, when children spend more time outdoors and when vital water safety skills can help keep children safe.
In the article below we examine the importance of learning to swim and how it can save lives.
Why learn to swim?
We currently teach close to 40,000 children a week nationally in our More Swimming Academy, with the demand for lessons increasing in the lead up to the summer holidays. We have a huge responsibility to ensure these children get all the skills they need to be safe in and around water.
Being able to swim is an important skill that could one day save your life or the life of someone you are with. According to research by the RLSS UK, 71% of UK child drownings occur between May and August, with 84% of those happening in inland waters, such as rivers, lakes and canals.
No child should drown, and with the right water safety education – such as knowledge of the Water Safety Code – accidental drownings are preventable.
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. In a survey carried out by RLSS UK, more than 55% of parents 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 304 UK and Irish citizens drown each year. This is still a horrifying number.
Check out the Free Water Safety Resources on the Royal Life Saving Society's website, here, which are a great way of having the water safety conversation with your children.