SV14 - Supervision of Children (Under 10)

Purpose

To provide guidance on the supervision of children in unstructured activity at an aquatic facility.

Coroner’s recommendations have specifically addressed inadequate levels of supervision by both parents/guardians and lifeguards as contributing factors to drownings in public aquatic facilities. “The one common denominator in child drowning, no matter where, is inadequate supervision.”

Drownings in Aquatic Facilities of Children under 10 years

Research conducted by Royal Life Saving Society Australia identifies that over 230 drowning incidents (fatal and not-fatal) have occurred between 2002/03 and 2014/2015 at Aquatic Facilities of persons 10 years and under. This is an average of 19 per year.

From this research it is clear that factors contributing to the drowning death of young children has many diverse contributing factors and requires an aquatic facility to implement a broad ranging program to deal with them which should include but is not limited to:

• Policies
• Engagement and Public Education and skill development
• Parent / Guardian and Lifeguard Supervision
• Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment
• Facility Design

Policies

The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should have in place the following policies for the Supervision of Children.

Entry Policies

• Children under five (5) years will not be permitted entry without an appropriate parent/guardian who is prepared to swim
• Children under ten (10) years will not be permitted entry without an appropriate parent / guardian
• Groups / families will not be permitted entry where the number of Parent / Guardian’s supervising a group of children under ten (10) years exceeds the ratio of 1:4
• A parent / guardian is regarded as a responsible individual who is sixteen (16) years and over
• All booking procedures should include the advice and supplementary information of Children Supervision policies
• All large, informal groups of children arriving at an aquatic facility may be required to participate in a brief to the entry policies and may be refused entry

Aquatic Supervision Policies

• Children under ten (10) years must be constantly accompanied by an adult while in the aquatic area of the Facility
• Children under five (5) years must be constantly supervised by an appropriate parent/guardian who is prepared to swim. Adequate supervision requires the parent/guardian to accompany the child in the water and remain within arm’s reach of the child at all times
• Unsupervised children under five (5) years should be removed from the water and placed in a safe area until collected by the parent/guardian
• For children ten (10) years and older parents must use their knowledge of the child's swimming ability to determine the level of accompaniment required
• If a staff member is concerned for the safety of an unsupervised child, they have the ability to remove the child from the water
• An unsupervised child of poor swimming ability regardless of age should be removed from the water by a staff member

Staff Policies

• All staff should complete a Supervision of Children Professional Development program such as Keep Watch or Watch Around Water
• All staff should have a Working with Children Check (as required by state / territory legislation)

Public Education and Skill Development

Swimming and Water Safety Programs

The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should consider facilitating swimming and water safety programs to children as a means of increasing the knowledge and skills of children attending the facility. This includes but is not limited to:

• Swimming and Water Safety programs
• Safety presentations at schools and community events
• Safety demonstrations and activity days
• Swimming, Lifesaving and aquatic sporting programs

Education Programs

The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should have in place a dedicated Children Supervision Education Program to inform the public of the aquatic facilities policies and programs in place to support it.

The public education program may include but is not limited to the following:

• Publication of Aquatic Facility Rules at the point of entry
• Posters / Stickers
• PA Announcements
• Media Releases / Newspaper articles
• Community Service Announcements
• Promotional brochures
• Mail outs

Signage

The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should ensure adequate signage supporting the policies for the Supervision of Children is displayed at the following points:

• Entry to the facility
• Entry or exit of change areas
• Aquatic environments frequently visited by children e.g. toddlers pool, play areas

Signage should be consistent with the Guidelines for Safe Pool Operations – Aquatic Signage

Supervision

Parental / Guardian Supervision

Effective parent / guardian supervision should be provided consistent with the Aquatic Facility policies. The characteristic of effective parental supervision includes proximity, attention and continuity.

On this basis, adequate supervision is where:

• The parent / guardian is located nearby (preferably in arms reach)
• The parent / guardian is watching the child (free from self-distractions)
• The parent / guardian is always present
• The parent/guardian positions himself or herself to have a clear view of any children in their care with no physical or structural barriers between them and the child.

For the ease of simplifying criteria, supervision requirements should be as follows:

Lifeguard Supervision

A risk management approach should be taken with the view of increasing the proximity, attention and / or the number lifeguards at times when children under ten (10) years are more likely to frequent the facility or are in attendance at the facility.

Buddy Systems

Lifeguards may also use a ‘buddy’ system when groups of children are within the water. This involves swimmers being paired and, when a prearranged signal is given, ‘buddies’ link hands and remain in place. The Lifeguards note that each pair of ‘buddies’ is safe and that each individual is looking out for his or her partner. The ‘buddy’ system can be combined with a check-in-by- number system. Each pair is given a number. When the ‘buddy’ signal is given, pairs call out their numbers in numerical sequence.

Activity Zoning or Restriction

Lifeguards should consider zoning aquatic activities or locations which restrict children to access higher risk activities or locations and enable easier monitoring and quicker response by lifeguards.

This may include such things as:

• A line on pool deck or on lane ropes which indicates a depth greater than 900mm and no children ten (10) years and under past that point
• No running, jumping or diving
• Restriction to activities based on height / age

Clothing and Personal Protection Equipment

Approved Swimwear

The owner or operator of an aquatic facility should consider the following approved swimwear policies

• Appropriate swimwear (fit for purpose) should be worn in the water
• Only recognised waterproof aqua nappies plus swimming costume for infants are to be worn in the water
• Swim waterproof nappies are required for all non-toilet trained children when using the pools

Personal Identification Clothing

Some facilities are choosing to adopt personal identification clothing (such as wrist bands) to assist Lifeguards and other facility staff in recognising children and parents / guardians especially in high volume patron situations.

If the owner or operator of an aquatic facility considers the use of wrist bands, rash vest, caps (or similar) to identify and assist Lifeguards, the clothing or equipment should be consistent in colour.

References

• Swimming Pool Supervision Guidelines and Recommended Standard, 1996, Hillary Commission, Wellington
• RLSSA Keep Watch at Public Pools Program
• RLSSA Lifeguarding Training Manual 5th Edition 2016
• Watch Around Water Program
• SLSA Review into Personal Protection Equipment (May 2015)
• A framework for drowning prevention 2nd Edition. Ed Joost Bierens
• Petrass, Lauren A. Dr and Blitvich, Jennifer (2017) "Understanding Contributing Factors to Child Drownings in Public Pools in Australia: a Review of National Coronial Records," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 10 : No. 1 , Article 3. Available at: http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol10/iss1/3
• State/Territory Working with Children legislation and regulations

Previous Versions

• Guideline SU3 Supervision of Children, Issue 2, November 2005
• Guideline SU10 Parental Supervision, Issue 1, July 1996