Thousands improve skills in first year of partnership with Royal Life Saving Society

A partnership which is helping the nation to learn to swim and enjoy the water safely has seen thousands improve their skill set in the first year.

Swim England, the Institute of Swimming and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) announced the collaboration at Elevate on 8 May 2019 – and since then they have increased ease and access for a range of courses which aim to increase water safety and lifesaving skills.

The organisations have also co-exhibited at a number of events and worked on the development of new qualifications and awards.

Jane Nickerson, Swim England Chief Executive, said she was delighted so many had taken advantage of the special offers to enhance their qualifications.

She said: “We’re thrilled that our partnership with RLSS UK has led to thousands of our swimming teachers boost their knowledge and skills.

“We’ll continue to work closely with the RLSS UK in the next 12 months to ensure all of our members, teachers and coaches have access to high-quality courses.

“This collaboration has brought together the industry’s market leaders and helped ensure even more of our workforce are trained to the highest standards with the best qualifications on offer.”

Robert Gofton, RLSS UK Chief Executive, said: “We continue to work even closer together and are developing an effective working partnership to support the growth of swimming and water safety.

“The focus in year one was to aid our workforces to easily access high quality training.

“We have joint interests and are passionate about water, swimming and water safety – as are our supporters and workforce.

“We have continued to provide strong leadership and stand together with Swim England during the recent crisis.”

Partnership achievements

Over the last 12 months, the partnership has achieved:

• More than 6,000 Level 2 swimming teachers have qualified to deliver valuable lifesaving skills through the RLSS UK’s Rookie Lifeguard programme.
• RLSS UK has supported Swim England tutors to broaden their skill set to deliver and assess National Rescue Award for Swimming Teachers and Coaches (NRASTC) qualifications.
• NRASTC or NRASTC LIGHT courses are now delivered alongside a Swim England Qualifications (SEQ) Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) or Level 2 Teaching Swimming course – providing an enhanced training opportunity for learners.
• Courses created in conjunction with the Institute of Swimming and RLSS UK include Pool Plant Operator training and a free ‘Keep Training and Carry On’ webinar on Apprenticeship guidance.
• The organisations continue to work together on water safety campaigns, including Drowning Prevention Week
• RLSS UK also helped to develop Swim England’s Water Safety Awards.

Meanwhile, the organisations are offering members a range of training opportunities while pools are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Swim England, in conjunction with the Institute of Swimming, has provided a number of free online courses while also specially adapting courses to give everyone the opportunity to start their training.

RLSS UK has introduced a new online learning platform and rolled out 10 free training modules for National Pool Lifeguard Qualification holders – with more than 50,000 completed in only six weeks.

Future plans include Swim England and RLSS UK working alongside the British Triathlon Federation to support the open water industry with clear and supportive guidance.