Published 28 June 2023
Swim schools are missing out on the benefits of aligning lessons to the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and tracking children’s achievement against National Benchmarks, a new report has found.
The National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks Implementation Report found Just eight per cent allocating equal amounts of time to water safety and to swimming stroke skills, despite that being a key part of recommendations.
The report commissioned by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, found three-quarters of those surveyed were aware of the Framework and Benchmarks yet only 26 per cent mapped their programs to both the Framework and Benchmarks and only 14 per cent used data to track student's achievement.
The research, which was co-authored by John Summers, Penny Larsen, RJ Houston and Dr. Katrien Pickles, features survey responses from forty-five organisations which provide lessons to 825,000 children annually.
Programs aligned to the Framework provide individuals with balanced water safety, personal survival, and swimming education. Children are assessed against the same criteria across different systems, or the same system over time. This helps identify gaps in children's swimming and water safety skills and areas for program improvement.
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia National Education Manager, Penny Larsen, said the research reinforces the importance of aligning swim program curriculum with the National Framework and Benchmarks.
“If you know your program aligns with the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks, it makes it easier to ensure all children are receiving high quality swimming instruction, which includes both swimming strokes and survival techniques,” Ms Larsen said.
“It was particularly concerning to see how many of the recommended skills for 14–17-year-olds were not being taught in swim schools. More than a third of the swim schools which responded are not teaching how to respond in an emergency or how to rescue a person in deep water, yet we know in the teenage years those skills are critical.”
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia CEO, Justin Scarr said that the revised National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks are a result of a series of Symposia that brought together water safety organisations, swim schools and academics.
“At the time, the research had found that many children were unable to swim at the end of primary school, so as a group we worked together and set clear benchmarks for parents, swim schools and government,” Mr Scarr said.
“We know the lack of swimming skills and water safety knowledge is a major risk for drowning so ensuring children across Australia have access to those skills and knowledge is a priority.”
The research found the Swim and Survive program, which is aligned to the National Framework and Benchmarks, remains the most popular and widespread swimming and water safety curriculum delivered in swim schools in Australia.
The Swim and Survive program was developed in 1982 and is regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects best practice and is supported by the most current research available.
The National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks Implementation Report makes three key recommendations:
- Improve swim school provider awareness of the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks, including the alignment of the Swim and Survive program.
- Conduct a structured data collection project on the National Benchmarks which seeks to work with Education Department programs from which broad assessments of Benchmark achievements of the three age groups can be established.
- Provide support and resources to support teachers of the 13- to 17-year-old age group, to ensure increased achievement of the Benchmarks in this age group.
Improved software system capacity for swim schools to be able to enter students’ achievements against the benchmarks will enhance future data collection capabilities.
Being able to track and measure children’s achievements of the National Swimming and Water Safety Benchmarks is an important advocacy tool to ensure funding is being allocated to the age groups and communities who are missing out.
For more information on the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and Benchmarks, click here.
To view previous research by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia on Benchmarking Childrens’ Swimming and Water Safety Skills, see below:
Royal Life Saving thanks the report co-authors and the participants of this research for their time and contributions to water safety knowledge and drowning prevention actions. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and building these recommendations into our actions and programs.
