Aquatic facilities offer a safe place to swim and learn water safety skills. Tragically, despite the design expertise and skilled management of these spaces, child drownings at public pools do occur.
Research into child drowning prevention programs in aquatic facilities is being undertaken by Royal Life Saving. Part 1 of this research is now available.
Key findings include:
The research has found that there are two broad industry-recognised programs available to aquatic facilities which aim to address child drowning prevention:
- Keep Watch at Public Pools (KWPP)
- Watch Around Water (WAW)
These two programs have been developed by industry bodies and have been implemented across industry for over 20 years, however only 31% of Australia’s 2,113 pools are currently registered for either program.
About 70% of aquatic facilities do not have an industry-recognised child supervision program in place.
Part 2 of the research is being conducted to:
- Determine which messages and interventions are most effective in positively influencing parents and guardians and,
- Determine which elements of programs are effective in supporting staff and management.
The research aims to find ways of improving child supervision programs in light of changing community contexts.
Understanding the perspective of pool staff is integral to ensuring the available child supervision programs are also meeting their objectives. Aquatic facility staff, including front desk staff, lifeguards and pool management, will be invited to be part of the study, either through interviews or focus group discussions and will include facilities providing both supervision programs.
The findings of this research are expected to be released in mid-2023.
