Teacher resource - skills to be achieved at the pool or in the classroom

 

1. Recognise an emergency for yourself or others

Students should be able to recognise when someone or themselves are in trouble in, on or around the water

2. Know, understand and respect water safety rules, hazards and risks around the home, farm and around pools

• Students should only take part in water activities under adult supervision and never swim alone.

• Play safely without hindering others.

• Listen to lifeguards.

• Know how to read, follow and understand signage around water.

• Know how to assess the environment where activities are planned.

• Know dangers around the home like pools or buckets full of liquid. Always keep the pool gate shut and empty buckets when not in use.

• Know dangers around farms and fields such as troughs,ponds, and irrigation.

• Know to wear appropriate clothing / gear for the activity.

3. Know, understand and respect water safety rules, hazards and risk in natural environments such as at the beach, offshore, river or lake

• Students should only take part in water activities under adult supervision and never swim alone.

• Play safely without hindering others.

• Listen to lifeguards.

• Swim between the flags.

• Know how to read, follow and understand signage around water.

• Know how to assess the environment where activities are planned.

• Know to check with locals about environments and conditions.

• Know to check the weather and tides.

• Understand the dynamics of waves, currents and rips.

• Know to check and wear suitable equipment such as a life jacket.

• Know to wear appropriate clothing / gear for the activity.

4. Know, understand and respect water safety rules, hazards and risks for water activities such as swimming, water sports and boating

• Students should only take part in water activities under adult supervision and never swim alone.

• Play safely without hindering others.

• Know how to read, follow and understand signage around water.

• Know how to assess the environment where activities are planned.

• Know to check with locals about environments and conditions.

• Know to check the weather and tides.

• Understand waves, currents and rips.

• Know to check and wear suitable equipment such as a life jacket.

• Know to wear appropriate clothing / gear for the activity.

5. Know who to call for help and how

Have the confidence to ask the nearest appropriate adult for assistance.

6. Know how to recognise hypothermia and how to treat it

• Understand the causes of hypothermia and how to avoid hypothermia.

• Understand the procedure to treat hypothermia including removal of wet clothing and warm the person by wrapping them in dry clothing or blankets.

Definitions

Rip currents

A rip is a strong current of water running out to sea. They can be very dangerous to swimmers as they can sweep you out to sea quickly and easily.

Rip currents can be hard to identify, look for these features:

• Discoloured or murky brown water caused by sand stirred up off the bottom

• A smoother surface with much smaller waves, with waves breaking on either side

• Debris floating out to sea

• A rippled look, when the water around is generally calm.

  If you get caught in a rip:

• Don’t panic

• Don’t try to swim against the rip back to shore

• Let the rip carry you out until the current subsides

• Then swim parallel to the beach for 30-40 metres before swimming back to shore

• If you get tired or become frightened, stay calm, raise your arm, call for help and wait for assistance

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature.