Water safety - enjoy water safely video

A rise in drowning figures has prompted the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) to encourage parents to teach their children how to stay safe and enjoy water safely every summer, as part of its national Drowning Prevention Week campaign, hosted in June of each year.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, millions of children have missed out on vital swimming, lifesaving skills and water safety education during the pandemic due to pool closures, leaving a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education.

Young people from low incomes and ethnic minority communities have been the hardest hit. A staggering 95 per cent of black adults and 80 per cent of black children do not swim, and this gap has widened still further as a result of Covid-19.

Accidental drowning takes an average of 312 UK and Irish citizens each year, and the Royal Life Saving Society UK fears that with cost of living increases and staycations on the up, families will flock to inland water locations and beaches this summer, without the right knowledge and skills, putting themselves and others at risk.