Puddle Ducks Bristol & Bath, the provider of award-winning swimming lessons for children from birth to primary school age, is seeking to promote the importance of water safety across the local community.
With Tuesday 25 July marking World Drowning Prevention Day and summer being the time of year when deaths by drowning hit their peak in the UK, local swim school have been carrying out a number of initiatives to help raise awareness.
From water safety awareness featured in classes on the run up to the summer holidays, poolside safety tips and Pyjama Week, Puddle Ducks Bristol & Bath is committed to interactive and fun sessions for children that also educate them on the knowledge they need should they ever find themselves in an emergency situation.
In the UK, the latest statistics from the Water Incident Database (WAID) show there were 226 accidental fatalities in 2022: 105 of them during June, July and August.
Owner of Puddle Ducks, Sarah Austin, commented, ‘It’s so important that we educate our children so that they feel confident in water, not only to enjoy swimming, but also to know what to do should something go wrong.
“We teach a number of personal survival and lifesaving skills in our classes, including learning to jump in, resurface and swim back to a point of safety, blowing bubbles on the water then rotating and kicking away, falling off the float and returning to a point of safety, even treading water. With summer being a time of year children spend more time around water whether that’s on holiday or at home, as a swim school we’re passionate about educating the children across our community.
“Our Pyjama Week is always really popular – wearing your favourite pyjamas, jumping in the water and completing activities is a novelty all children enjoy, and a memory that will stay with them. Allowing children to experience what it feels like to be submerged in water fully clothed will help them if they ever find themselves in trouble in the water.”
All Puddle Ducks teachers are STA qualified and focus on creating a nurturing environment, which supports independent swimming for children of all abilities.
For more information about Puddle Ducks Bristol and Bath, please call 0117 971 7165 or visit puddleducks.com/bb. Puddle Ducks also provide a number of online resources on water safety, such as:
https://www.puddleducks.com/blog/water-safety-keeping-safe-this-summer
https://www.puddleducks.com/blog/why-we-hold-pyjama-weeks
https://www.puddleducks.com/swimming-activities-fun-and-games/water-safety-quizzes-and-more