Better Highlights Importance of Drowning Prevention to Kids Nationally as Summer Holidays Near
The UK's largest public pools and swim school operator Better is providing timely activities during Drowning Prevention Week (14 - 21 June) to raise awareness of water safety ahead of kids breaking up for the summer holidays.
Charitable social enterprise GLL operates 140 pools, lidos and open water facilities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Better brand - many are offering Water Safety Lessons in Swim School sessions and School Swimming lessons this week - while some staff will go into local schools to offer Water Safety Assemblies.
Drowning Prevention Week is an annual campaign run by charity the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS). Every year, children drown when falling into the water or getting into difficulties when swimming.
Reflecting the seriousness with which the issue is taken, on Tuesday 17th June, GLL's National Aquatics Manager Andrew Clark attended an event at the House of Commons that convened Parliamentarians, water safety activists and experts as well as families close to this cause, to push for water safety awareness and for MPs to pledge their support for drowning prevention.
This was then followed by a convening of the Water Safety All-Party Parliamentary Group including Darren Paffey MP, Lord Storey, Saqib Bhatti MP and Rebecca Long-Bailey MP - who were addressed by RLSS CEO Simmy Akhtar and joined by parents who have lost their children to drowning, and who work closely with the charity.
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 this 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.
Previous research (2024) by GLL found that teaching swimming is the most important life skill we can teach our children – even more important than learning about first aid.
Half of parents (56%) said it topped their list of priorities with 71% of parents fearing their children might drown abroad when on holiday.
Drowning Prevention Week comes at a time when more schools are facing financial challenges putting on swimming lessons and many pools are closing due to the continued high cost of energy.
This month, Swim England and ukactive warned that the pace of pool closures was increasing. 500 swimming pools have been lost since 2010, totalling a massive 34,859 sq metres of water space. Of all the pools lost in that time, almost half (42%) have been lost since 2020.
To help avoid accidental deaths this summer, the public are being urged not to jump in after someone - as difficult as it may seem - stay calm, stay on land and follow this 3-step rescue guide:
1. Call 999 to get help immediately
2. Tell the struggling person to float on their back
3. Throw them something that floats
To access free water safety resources, visit www.rlss.org.uk