Scots Kids Dive In for Life-Saving Lessons During Drowning Prevention Week

“We cannot over-emphasise the importance of water safety all year round, but it’s particularly relevant as we approach summer when people are often more likely to be around water”

Peter Farrer
Chief Operating Officer, Scottish Water

Learn to Swim lessons across Scotland are teaching around 82,000 children how to be safer in and around water to mark Drowning Prevention Week this month.

From Shetland to the Borders, swimming pools are adapting and transforming their regular swimming lessons into workshops which will focus specifically on water safety knowledge and skills.

Swimmers are set to learn the crucial Water Safety Code as well as basic floating techniques, which can make a massive difference when someone feels in danger in the water, and that could help save their lives or someone else's.

The special lessons come as the latest figures reveal the ongoing risks around Scotland's waters. The National Water Safety Forum reported that, tragically, in 2024, there were 33 accidental drownings in Scotland.

Drowning prevention is one of the main objectives for the Learn to Swim National Framework and in June each year, the programme does a major water safety push to coincide with Drowning Prevention Week, where youngsters take part in a bespoke water safety swim lesson delivered by the leisure trusts and aquatic providers.
 
John Lunn, CEO of Scottish Swimming, said: “Every June, our Learn to Swim classes shift focus to concentrate on water safety.

"It’s not just about being a strong swimmer- understanding how to recognise hazards, help others in distress, and make smart decisions around water is equally important.”

Peter Farrer, Chief Operating Officer at Scottish Water, added: "We cannot over-emphasise the importance of water safety all year round, but it’s particularly relevant as we approach summer when people are often more likely to be around water. 

“These water safety lessons provide an opportunity to equip people with the vital knowledge and skills to help them feel safer in, on, and around water, and help their parents and family network feel confident and comfortable in their swimming abilities."

The Learn to Swim National Framework is delivered by 38 leisure trusts and aquatic providers in 167 pools from Shetland to the Borders with the vision of creating "Generation Swim", a generation of children who are confident, safer and competent swimmers, who will also get to experience the wider health and social benefits that swimming can offer.

The programme currently reaches around 82,000 children across Scotland, who will have access to a new interactive water safety quiz that has been developed to improve water safety knowledge this year.

The Learn to Swim National Framework is committed to creating inclusive, supportive, and quality environments in which individuals can learn to swim regardless of their age, ability, or skill level.

Drowning Prevention Week, organised by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), stands as one of the largest water safety campaigns in the UK and Ireland. 

For more information on Learn to Swim visit: https://learntoswim.scot