Water safety is obviously a very important part of every child’s education and therefore, we strongly suggest that children achieve the following awards. These Safety and Survival Awards are an excellent introduction to water safety which includes the awareness of dangers and survival knowledge. They also offer vital life-saving information based around personal survival and safety.

Preliminary Safety Skills Award
Due to the continuing number of accidents in and around water, even shallow water, the ASA recommends that the Preliminary Safety Skills Award should be included in your learn to swim programme as early as possible.

This award provides an excellent introduction to water safety and it is aimed at swimmers who no longer use buoyancy aids. It helps youngsters to become more aware of the dangers and risks in and around water.

Personal Survival Awards
These awards teach pupils how to react should they find themselves in difficulty in water and provide a deeper insight into some of the dangers they could face. By having to wear everyday clothing during the assessment, these awards test pupils in a realistic way as they replicate the conditions they are most likely to experience if they find themselves in a dangerous situation.

Water Rescue Award
The Water Rescue Award is a natural follow on from the Personal Survival Awards. It gives participants a basic insight into lifesaving techniques as well as hands-on experience in a variety of rescues.

The Water Safety Code
Please note: It is helpful to ensure that swimmers know and understand the RLSS UK Water Safety Code, detailed below.

• Spot the dangers
  
• Take safety advice
  
• Go with a friend
  
• Learn how to help