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School swimming and water safety education overview

There are a multitude of ways that swimming and water safety education can be delivered in schools and LSV is engaged by the Department of Education to support schools in the design and implementation of appropriate programs that are within budget, meet the requirements of the Victorian Curriculum F – 10 and address the needs of students.

LSV recommends a three-pronged approach to swimming and water safety education to ensure that students:

  1. develop water safety knowledge
  2. acquire swimming skills
  3. transfer these competencies to various open-water environments.

LSV also delivers programs that continually progress students’ swimming skills and water safety knowledge, are adaptable to any age, experience level or location, and are in line with the Victorian Curriculum F – 10 and the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework.

It is anticipated that all Victorian students achieve the Victorian Water Safety Certificate by the time they graduate from primary school and this three-pronged, progression-based model is designed to fulfill this expectation.

Level / group

Program design should be suited to the needs of the students based on their water safety knowledge, swimming skills and openwater experience. All students should be working towards achieving the Victorian Water Safety Certificate by the end of Year 6.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and Life Saving Victoria (LSV) developed the Swimming and Water Safety F–10 Progression document to outline the swimming and water safety competencies expected to be achieved by students by the end of each level in the curriculum.

At each level of the curriculum, students are expected to demonstrate knowledge, skills and understandings related to swimming and water safety and the Progression document reflects these as they relate to the Victorian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and the Victorian Water Safety Certificate.

Program options

Program design should be suited to the needs of the students based on their water safety knowledge, swimming skills and open-water experience. All should be working towards achieving the Victorian Water Safety Certificate by the end of Year 6.

Instructor

The type of program will determine the supervision requirements.

Additionally, student age, competency levels, the venue location and the type of water-based activity will determine the teacher: student ratio and the necessary qualifications of instructors, supervisors and lifeguards.

Regardless of whether the swimming or water safety activity is run by school staff or an external provider, the Swimming and water-based activities guidelines must be followed.

Schools that have a pool on school grounds must also adhere to the Swimming Pools on School Grounds policy and Royal Life Saving Society Australia - Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations (GSPO)

Structure / timing

Schools have full autonomy over the design and implementation of their swimming and water safety programs with school schedules and budgets being key considerations.

LSV recommends that schools keep in mind the following factors:
  • the three-pronged approach will provide students with vital lifesaving knowledge, skills and experience
  • there is no set number of lessons that students should participate in
  • regular participation is crucial to maintaining and progressively developing competencies
  • most schools deliver programs in Term 1 and Term 4
  • scheduling programs only in the warmer months can limit options
  • all students should be working towards the Victorian Water Safety Certificate which they are expected to achieve by the end of primary school.

LSV's School swimming and water safety toolkit is a Victorian Government- funded resource hub to assist schools in their design and delivery of swimming and water safety programs.

Financing

The Swimming in Schools initiative provides funding to support schools to fulfil the swimming and water safety requirements of Health and Physical Education in the Victorian Curriculum F-10. It is designed to increase opportunities for students to learn how to swim, and ensure they develop lifelong skills in swimming and water safety.

Swimming in Schools funding is provided to Victorian government primary, primary/secondary, specialist and English language schools as well as Victorian Catholic primary schools.

The level of Swimming in Schools funding differs subject to the education sector, type of school and their location.

There are a number of other funding avenues that may be available to schools that are conditional on certain factors:
  • parent contribution
  • Camps, sports and excursions fund
  • Sporting schools funding

Transport

Swimming in Schools funding provided to Victorian government primary, primary/secondary, specialist and English language schools, includes a component for transport.

The transport used to get students to and from swimming and water safety programs will depend on a number of factors including the students' age, distance from the venue, time allocated to the program and budget.

If the only option for a school is to hire a bus, consideration should be given to the duration of the swimming and water safety program. Providing water safety lessons at school in the classroom before going to a pool or open waterway will allow more time for in-water activities and extending the water-based sessions could reduce the number of trips required. For example, doing five full day programs will incur half the transportation costs of 10 half day programs.

Other options are:
  • Public transport
  • Walking
All transportation should comply with the PAL Guidelines for excursions.

Assessment

By the end of primary school, it is anticipated that students should be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills identified in the Victorian Water Safety Certificate. These are aligned to the competencies benchmarked by the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework for children at 12 years old.

To receive the VWSC, students need to achieve the following competencies:

Water Safety Knowledge
  • Answer questions relating to safety rules for a range of aquatic environments.
Swim
  • Swim continuously for 50 metres.
Under Water
  • Surface dive, swim underwater and search to recover an object from deep water.
  • Lifesaving
    • Respond to an emergency by demonstrating DRSAB and the recovery position.
    Rescue Skills
    • Rescue a person using non-swimming rescue techniques:
      • Reach rescue using a non-rigid aid.
      • Throw rescue using a weighted rope.
      • Throw rescue using a buoyant object and unweighted rope.
    Survival Sequence
    • Perform a survival sequence wearing light clothing:
      • Enter the water safely.
      • Scull, float and tread water for 2 minutes; signalling for help intermittently.
      • Swim survival strokes slowly for 3 minutes.
      • Exit the water safely.