Swimming, Swimming Lessons, and Safety

Hotel swimming pool with wheelchair ramp. Tenerife. Canary Islands. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Falling in Water, Paddling and Swimming Hazards

1 First, what are the hazards? 

2 Secondly Possible prevention? 

3 Thirdly Rescue

1 a In residential pools, children who cannot swim falling into pools.

1b Shelving beaches.

Prevention

Not just warnings on the radio and in newspaper. Flags and multilingual signs on beaches. Patrols by life guards, paid or volunteers. Instructions on helplines, and actions. This might include warnings about shelving and riptides, fines for allowing unaccompanied minors in water known for shelving and ripyides. Instructions to form human chains from land into the sea?

1c Bad weather, storms, waves, and riptides.

2 Safety Solution - Swimming Lessons

In the UK Key stage 2 requires children to have swimming instruction.

What is key stage 2? Ages 7 to 11. 

As far as I can see, this means that by the time a child leaves the school at age 11, it should be able to swim. But it doesn't mean that at 7, 8, 9, or 10 every child must be able to swim.

I read in a forum of comments on a newspaper article that although Key stage 2 in the UK requires that children should be taught to swim, some Councils have found it challenging to put this into practice because of the closure of public pools. In that case, in my opinion, parents and others should start local newspaper campaigns to secure funding either from government sources or sponsorship.

3 How about adding swimming lessons for parents? Including life-saving. I know from experience, trying to save my mother who swam into the deep end of a pool, that if you try to rescue a bigger person, facing them, they put their arms around your neck and drag you under with them. You need to approach them from behind and hold their head out of the water.

2  The same lessons for carers.

Instruct children not to swim in open waters, only to swim in pools where other people are nearby, or where there are lifeguards. 

Websites About Swimming, Safety, and Dangers

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15973395/father-saved-boy-drowning-mother-son-swim.html

https://www.swimming.org/schools/swimming-national-curriculum/

https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/community-education-workshops/first-aid-workshop-for-adults

Free Swimming In Pools

https://be-well.org.uk/what-we-offer/swimming/free-swimming/

Free Swimming Lessons

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/leisure-and-sport/swimming/free-swimming-lessons

https://findyour.islington.gov.uk/kb5/islington/directory/service.page?id=wMG2NtgjYTk

Updated text and websites on Monday July 14th 2026.