SwimSafer week at Hampton Swim School
Why interrupt regular swimming lessons for SwimSAFER week activities?
Some parents wonder why we take a break from the children’s usual learn to swim classes to practice SwimSAFER activities. We know it’s great to see the kids learning all the skills they need to become really capable and confident swimmers whether they’re in a pool, at the beach, or maybe a lake, creek or dam. But accidents around the water happen, and through SwimSAFER activities, your child will be better able to handle themselves and more safely help others.
Why is SwimSAFER needed?
There are a big number of parents who initially enrol their children, from babies to school aged kids, in learn to swim classes for the main reason of ‘being safer around the water’. And this is great because in Queensland we have so much hot and humid weather that we spend a pretty big part of our year in and around water. Plus statistics show that each year, about 100 families take a child under 5 years old to hospital emergency departments because of immersion accidents. By practicing SwimSAFER we aim to reduce that number.
Is SwimSAFER only at Hampton Swimming School?
Whether your child is in Hampton Swim School learn to swim classes at Bulimba, Morningside or Norman Park, they will complete SwimSAFER activities. In fact, swimming schools across Australia that are registered and accredited by Swim Australia deliver the SwimSAFER program. It’s a national initiative that aims to equip children everywhere with the ability to be safer in and around the water.
What’s great about the program?
What our swimming school and teachers love about the SwimSAFER program is that it recognises there is no one measure that can guarantee our children are safe in, on and around water, so it uses ‘layers’ of protection, so if one measure fails, then there is another behind it that may save a life. These layers are:
• Be Aware – which is about constant, direct supervision by a competent adult whenever children are in and around the water
• Be Secure – which is about securing all water hazards (even wading pools) with fences and self-latching gates, as well as removing anything that children even as young as 2 years old could use to climb a fence (such as chairs, bins, pot plants)
• Be Confident – which is where we can really help you, by teaching your child to swim well and water safety skills, starting with water familiarisation for very young kids, safe entries, breath control, floating and more, all the way through to strokes
• Be prepared – which is about having a plan of action should a child go missing around the water, making sure CPR signs are clearly visable around a pool and having a phone poolside for emergency use.