Lifesaving lessons: RNLI teaching resources to help prevent drowning

The RNLI has created a suite of free teaching materials to help educators engage their students with important, lifesaving, water safety lessons.The materials are targeted at different age groups, from 4 to 18, and are downloadable for free from the RNLI’s website, along with guidance notes, so teachers can access them easily and deliver the lifesaving workshops to their classes.

The RNLI hopes that by reaching young people early with water safety messages, it will help prepare them should they ever find themselves in difficulty in the water.

The resources cover a range of subjects, including what to do in a rip current; what the different flags on the beach mean, and what to do if you fall into cold water. They cover a range of formats, including quizzes, debates, group activities and short story writing ideas.

As well as developing resources to help teach water safety messages to students, the RNLI also has more than 400 dedicated volunteers around the UK and Ireland, who deliver interactive presentations to young people on a variety of topics including water safety, the history of the RNLI and the work of the charity. Last year, they delivered over 3,700 presentations to more than 540,000 students. Teachers can invite them to speak at their school by visiting RNLI.org/Education.

James Woodhouse, Youth Education Manager for the RNLI, said, ‘We’re looking forward to sharing our new water safety messages with teachers and youth group leaders. There’s a huge range of topics to engage students of all ages in water safety. Our new resources are perfect for teachers to use, and will help them share potentially lifesaving information with their students.

‘We’ve developed these new resources through working with teacher and volunteer steering groups, and through research with young people to inform the messaging, and research with teachers to help create an education plan.’

Notes to editors

· The resources are free to download from RNLI.org/Youth-Education/Education-Resources, and come with guidance to make them ready to deliver.

· Schools and youth group leaders can also invite one of the RNLI’s Education volunteers to speak to their students by visiting RNLI.org/Education

RNLI media contacts

For more information please Jennifer Clough, RNLI Press Officer at [email protected] and 01202 336789.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.