WARRINGTON schoolchildren received water safety advice at special Drowning Prevention Week swim sessions from LiveWire’s Aquatics Team and crew members from Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service.
Drowning Prevention Week 2021 – created by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) – runs from Monday 21st to Sunday 27th June 2021. It is an annual national campaign that aims to ensure everyone knows how to have fun and stay safe near water. The message is all the more important this year after the impact Covid-19 has had on the delivery of swimming lessons, where children would often be taught water safety as part of the National Curruiculum.
Drowning in the UK is one of the leading causes of accidental death, especially for children. Each year more than 400 people drown in the UK and Ireland. Drowning Prevention Week aims to help cut down on the number of drownings that still tragically occur each year.
LiveWire will be supporting this year’s campaign by helping to educate schoolchildren about the risks associated with water at School Swimming Sessions during the week.
Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service, with the support of the LiveWire Aquatics Team, will teach Year 4 and 5 pupils the dangers of water, what to do if they or their friend gets in trouble in the water, how to signal for help and talking to them about where they can and can’t go swimming, and any potential dangers that could be involved. Children will also learn about the equipment used in water rescues.
The sessions will be a fun and engaging way to pass on an important water safety message to children, which may help them in the future.
Phil Mansfield, LiveWire Learn to Swim Manager, said: “With the weather starting to get better and warmer days, children are more likely to go swimming in places they shouldn’t really go. Because of the impact of Covid 19, some children may have not been in a swimming pool for over a year, so in partnership with Cheshire Fire and Rescue we are trying to educate schoolchildren the importance of water safety and the risks of swimming outdoors.”
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Station Manager Jonathon Hill said: “Our firefighters have been committed to working in partnership with LiveWire and supporting this life-saving education programme for a number of years, but this year we feel it’s even more important to help. The pandemic has meant that many young people haven’t been given the opportunity to learn to swim, meaning they are missing this critical life-saving skill.
“Crews from Warrington, Birchwood, Lymm and Penketh will be involved in sessions at four locations in Warrington and they will instruct and communicate with individual class bubbles from the side of the pool. At the end of the sessions we should have equipped everyone with the skills and knowledge to make the right decisions around water, along with what to do if they ever get into difficulty.”
Emma Hutchinson, LiveWire Managing Director, said: “We are very pleased to once again support and get involved with Drowning Prevention Week, and to work with Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service to help local schoolchildren who use our pools learn more about water safety. It is so important that people of all ages understand how to stay safe near water, especially during the high-risk summer months.”
Always follow the RLSS’s Water Safety Code when you are around water:
•Stop and Think: Look for the dangers. Always read signs.
•Stay Together: Never swim alone. Always go with friends and family.
•In an Emergency: Shout for help and call 999 or 112.
•If you fall in: Float or swim on your back. Throw something that floats to anyone who has fallen in.
The RLSS’s website has a wealth of water safety advice on it, including important water safety at home information relating to paddling pools and hot tubs. For this and much more please visit https://www.rlss.org.uk/drowning-prevention-week
For more information on LiveWire’s Aquatics Programme please visit
https://livewirewarrington.co.uk/leisure/swimming
1 Comment
A great initiative to educate youngsters on the dangers of drowning. Let’s hope it deters some from the stupidity of swimming in the ship canal and local reservoirs when they’re older.