Swim Wales is urging parents and carers to make sure their children know how to stay safe and enjoy the water this summer.
The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), fears that families will flock to beaches and inland water locations this summer, without considering the potential dangers, putting themselves and others at risk. Or for those of us who will be venturing abroad for their summer holiday, they may find themselves using non- lifeguarded pools and therefore be at risk if they do not have the necessary water safety skills.
Figures indicate that over 50 per cent of primary pupils in Wales leave school unable to swim, and experts fear that as a result of the pandemic many young people are lacking the ability to swim or self-rescue. Swim Wales is supporting RLSS UK’s national Drowning Prevention Week campaign, this year running from 14-21 June 2025.
Drowning Prevention Week aims to equip everybody across the UK and Ireland with the skills and knowledge, to make the right decisions about water safety. Over 300 people accidentally drown in the UK and Ireland every year and many more suffer injury, sometimes life-changing, when they survive drowning.
Hanna Guise, Swim Wales’ Learn to Swim Manager said: “We are proud to play our part in ensuring our families have a safe summer. We recognise how vitally important it is for children to know how to stay safe near water and urge our parents to access RLSS UK’s free water safety resources on the Charity’s website, which include fantastic theme week lesson plans to allow schools to incorporate the resources into our existing lessons. We want all Welsh children to enjoy all of the fun and benefits of being in and around water but be educated on how to do that safely.”
The Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Interim Charity Director Matt Croxall said: “The UK’s waterways should be places where everyone feels at ease, and can take pleasure from their surroundings, whatever their age, whatever their activity level. We’re urging people to educate themselves and others on how to enjoy water safely and prevent a fun day out ending in tragedy.
The annual Drowning Prevention Week campaign is crucial to this aim. Throughout 2020 and 2021, young people have missed the vital opportunity to swim, leaving a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education.
Swim Wales and RLSS UK believe that through free, accessible education and training, everyone can enjoy water safely. We urge as many parents and carers as possible to get involved with the campaign, use the free online resources, and give their children the skills to enjoy a lifetime of fun in the water.”
Visit www.rlss.org.uk to access the Charity’s free water safety resources.
