Importance of Drowning Prevention highlighted to Bedfordshire children as Summer approaches

The special guests will be poolside during swimming lessons at Robinson Pool and Fitness in Park Avenue, Bedford on Monday 16 June. St John Ambulance will be demonstrating CPR and teaching crucial lifesaving skills, while the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service will run an interactive water safety session focused on rescuing someone who is in trouble in water.

GLL, the charitable social enterprise which runs Better leisure centres, is the UK’s largest public swimming pool operator and with three pools in Bedfordshire all lessons during Drowning Prevention Week are focused on promoting water safety to reduce accidental drownings.

Lessons at Kempston Pool & Fitness, Oasis Beach Pool and Robinson Pool and Fitness, will include teaching children about life guard flags and their meanings, sharing water safety, self-rescue skills, and importantly, what to do in the event of seeing someone drowning or in need of help.

There will also be table displays with drowning prevention information flyers and activity sheets provided by the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), organisers of Drowning Prevention Week, and lifeguarding equipment display.

Timothy Smith, Area Swim School Lead at GLL, said: “Drowning Prevention Week is an important week in our yearly calendar. It’s our mission to ensure everyone in the community has an opportunity to learn how to swim and become safe in and around water.

“So not only are we giving children as much information as possible, we will be speaking to them about taking part in the Rookie Lifeguard Programme that we run at each pool. The junior awards programme from RLSS UK teaches rescue and lifesaving skills in a fun and engaging way to children aged between 8 – 12 years old. It’s a great opportunity for them to make friends and build their confidence in water."

Steve Wilson, Training Lead, North Bedfordshire Network at St John Ambulance, said: “It is important that we all learn how to swim. It is equally important that we know what to do when someone has been drowning. If we know how to give rescue breaths and give good quality compressions, we can save a life. We will demonstrate what you should do and give the children a practice in doing it, including the use of a defibrillator.”

Andrew Clark, Head of Sport & Aquatics at GLL, said: “For GLL, Drowning Prevention Week is embedded within our social enterprise ethos of making a difference in the communities we work in. We use Drowning Prevention Week as an opportunity for all our swimming lessons during that week to have a water safety focus. Last year, over 220,000 pupils in the UK received a Water Safety lesson as part of Drowning Prevention Week, and this year, we look to continue the work in 140 pools, lidos, and open water swimming venues across 60 local authorities in the UK.”

The latest research by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) shows that the number of child drowning deaths has doubled over the last four years in England alone. Drowning Prevention Week plays a vital role in giving youngsters the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe around water.