Stockton schoolchildren learn water safety ahead of summer holidays
Tees Active are delivering roadshows in the hopes it'll prevent future incidents
Children in Stockton have been learning about water safety ahead of the summer holidays to reduce the number of future incidents.
Tees Active have been taking their roadshows to primary schools and delivering fun, engaging and interactive lessons with activities and games, which allows children to understand the dangers of open water and to help equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to act if they find themselves, or someone they know, in difficulty in water.
Allan McDermott, community engagement manager, said: "Lifeguard trainers go into schools and do some practical, fun and interactive, but hopefully informative, exercises with the young children; we're asking questions and they have to pick out using playcards, what would they do if they were in a potential emergency situation, where they'd float on their back, so we have lots of children lying around in school halls pretending to be stars.
"We even give them some advice on how to do CPR, so we have some cushions and we do it in to the tune of 'Baby Shark' so that's always very, very popular with the young children.
"We ask the children what would happen if they did find somebody who was in distress, what would they do? Contact the emergency services etc."
They have been delivering the sessions over the last two weeks and the initiative coincides with National Drowning Prevention week.
Tees Active are working alongside the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) to educate and engage with people to enjoy water safely, to keep their families and friends safe and to know what to do in an emergency.
Tees Active Managing Director, Leon Jones, said: “Tees Active is all about improving people’s lives, and educating people to make healthier decisions, as well as providing them with fun, safe places where they can be active in their leisure time. If we can prevent just one incident from happening through education, then it has been worthwhile.”
They say an average of 307 UK and Irish citizens lose their life to accidental drowning every year and many more have non-fatal experiences, sometimes suffering life-changing injuries.
As well as the River Tees winding its way through the borough, Stockton also has more than 30 publicly accessible lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and large water-filled ditches. And the core message behind the campaign is that the safest way to swim is in a pool manned by trained lifeguards.
Aimee Willmott, Tees Active’s Learn To Swim Ambassador and Olympic swimmer once again backs Tees Active’s Water Safety Superheroes campaign in primary schools across Stockton.
Aimee said: “Swimming has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I know the joy and health benefits that being in the water can bring.”
“However, I’m also acutely aware of the dangers of swimming unsupervised in open water, such as rivers, lakes, ponds, and the sea, so I applaud Tees Active for taking this creative and proactive approach aimed at saving lives.”
The campaign features a downloadable, fun and engaging ‘Super Hero’ resource pack that teachers in any school can use to educate children about water safety.
Schools in Stockton are now being urged to sign up for next year's sessions.
You can find out more, or use their online resource pack, on their website.