RNLI water safety education programme targets inner city school children

RNLI lifeguards have delivered their water safety education programme to 939 schools in coastal areas, inland communities and across every capital in the UK to ensure children have lifesaving information, if they are visiting the beach over the holidays.

Within the programme, a team of 121 RNLI lifeguards delivered age and stage appropriate water safety education, along with sharing resources and materials for teachers and families. With the information and knowledge gained from the session, school children are then best prepared to visit the coast and share lifesaving information with their families and friends.

Earlier this month on Friday 6 June, the RNLI held a school ‘Meet the Lifeguard’ session with pupils in Year 5 at Coldfall Primary School in North London. Within the school talks, the pupils learned the water safety code, which included, how to spot a rip current, Float to Live and to call 999 in the event of an emergency.

The fun and interactive session included activities such as how to help someone in difficulty in the water using a throw line, learning about beach flags and the opportunity for pupils to try on lifeguard uniform to help them identify lifeguards and inspire future generations for the role.

Mungo Plamer, a Senior Beach Lifeguard in Kent, who delivered the school talk said:

‘We want children to learn about how to stay safe but also be able to pass the information onto friends and family.

‘Sessions like this are vital to contributing towards the links within the Drowning Chain of Survival. Education can stop so much of the potential incidents before they get to the beach and that’s really important.

‘It’s vital to deliver these sessions not just at the coast, but in schools within the interior of the country. It means that people who don’t always have exposure to the beach, learn new knowledge and lifesaving information.

‘By intervening early on in the chain, it stops those who are probably more at risk from getting into difficulty, especially when the weather gets hot.’

In 2024, the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) reported how the number of child drowning deaths has doubled and that there were 125 child drowning deaths in England across the last four years. Other figures have highlighted how there are specific communities who have limited access to vital swimming and water safety education.

The National Child Morality Database (NCMD), through their 2023 report shared how the risk of drowning was 3.5 times higher for children of Black or Black British ethnicity compared to White children. It also shows how the risk of drowning was two times higher for children from more deprived areas than less deprived areas.

The Black Swimming Association (BSA) in partnership with AKD Solutions (2023) shared how with the cost of living crisis and decrease in disposable income, could have an increasing impact on access to participation in swimming and aquatic activities.

Sam Johnson, Water Safety Manager for Education Development at the RNLI said:

‘It’s vital to deliver sessions like this away from the coast, in cities and towns throughout the UK to ensure that those people who perhaps don’t live close to the beach or coast, get the information they need.

‘We also know that many people away from the coast may have a range of barriers to accessing water safety education, this is a really great way we can breakdown some of those barriers.’