SWIMSMART believes that every child should be provided with a balanced water safety, personal survival, and lifesaving and swimming education. To facilitate this belief we have developed a 5 day water safety week.

The aim of the scheme is to make children aware of the dangers posed by open water. They will be taught everything from how they can spot the dangers themselves to how to act in an emergency. The emphasis is on the following skills:

Swimming Skills ---Personal Survival Skills

Lifesaving Knowledge---First Aid Skills

Community Education ---Fitness

Leadership and Teamwork ---Competition

No previous lifesaving award is required. The program is designed for anyone to participate, which means that friends can join together, even if they are of different ages or abilities.

To attend our Water Safety Week you need to be: 8 years or older Able to swim at least 25 metres, able to tread water for 2 minutes continuously and be comfortable in deep water
The best description of the Water Safety Week is SERIOUS FUN! There's a serious purpose behind the program. Children learn skills that could one day save a life while keeping fit and having fun at the same time.

SWIMSMART is a local company specialising in teaching swimming and lifesaving to children and young adults. For over 14 years we have run classes for the London Borough of Ealing at Gurnell and Dormers Wells leisure centres teaching hundreds of children a range of aquatic and First Aid skills, many of which have gone on to gain a professional Lifeguard Qualification as well as other Lifesaving and First Aid awards.

People, especially children are attracted to activities in and around water; a large percentage of deaths by drowning occur in what appears to be a harmless location. The following information highlights some of the reasons a water safety programme is essential:
Not everyone is swimming or playing in the water before they drown. Over 50% of those who drown were able to swim; it is easy to over estimate your ability and stamina. Sudden emersion in cold water can kill good swimmers as well as non-swimmers.

The Water Safety Week campaign teaches children all the important things they need to know when visiting coastal and inland waters over the summer holidays, from how they can spot the dangers themselves to how to act in an emergency. On average, one person drowns in the UK every 17 hours and drowning is still the third highest cause of accidental death amongst children with most occurring in inland waters such as rivers, lakes and ponds. Water Safety Week delivers important water safety messages for children to take with them

SWIMSMART also provide ongoing water safety classes in our Saturday sessions at Gurnell Leisure Centre, we also cover water polo and other team games in these fun filled sessions, at the end of the week each student will receive a SWIMSMART medal and certificate and the chance to achieve a nationally recognised Royal Lifesaving Society First Aid certificate.
All instructors at SWIMSMART are fully qualified with the Royal Lifesaving Society and the Amateur Swimming Association and hold a current enhanced Criminal Records Bureau certificate.

For further details contact SWIMSMART course director Rob Bent on 0208 998 7907