Press Release

STA LAUNCHES NEW POOL SAFETY AWARD FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS

12th June 2006

As one of the UK’s leading QCA accredited awarding bodies concerned with swimming teaching and water safety, STA has announced the launch of the Pool Safety Award, a new qualification designed to ensure that primary and secondary school teachers have critical life saving skills when teaching swimming or supervising lessons at the poolside.

In response to the gap in the training experience of many school teachers, STA in consultation with teachers has designed and developed a fit-for-purpose course that will provide the necessary life saving skills to deal with swimming related incidents, and will add value to the teachers’ skill sets.  Details of the new award will be presented by STA at the Association for Physical Education's National Conference (AfPE) in July 2006.

Steve Franks, STA Operations Director says:  “The issue regarding teachers completing their teaching degree, and having limited swimming and/or water rescue skills remains a real concern.  To date many of the awards that have been available to teachers have had limited success, because they have not been designed with the schoolteacher in mind; in general terms they have been pool safety awards that were created for other professions and then adapted.”

“Therefore STA is leading the way with the introduction of this new Pool Safety Award, as no other qualification currently exists that has been specifically developed for school teachers.  Furthermore, the award will provide critical life saving and rescue skills for teachers, and ensure that the school and its teaching staff are appropriately qualified whilst supervising structured swimming activities.  Issues of due diligence and compliance with HSG 179 and BAALPE 'Safe Practice in Physical Education and School Sport' are also important factors,” Mr Franks added.
The entry requirements for the Pool Safety Award are that candidates must be a qualified teacher in education and hold a current DfES number or be on a Graduate Teacher Training Programme.   The course duration is six hours, marking a significant reduction on previous courses.  To make it as accessible as possible, the course can also be broken down into two, three-hour blocks according to individual school requirements. 
The award, which has been piloted at several schools in the Midlands, provides core skills in relevant legislation, creating a safe pool environment, rescue techniques - including spinal injury management, immediate first aid and basic life support, pool hazards and associated risks, operational duties and responsibilities within a pool environment, alarm systems, normal operating procedures, and emergency action planning.  Teachers are assessed on the completion of a portfolio work sheet and tutor-led continual assessment throughout the course.
“The introduction of this award will hopefully encourage more swimming teaching to be undertaken in schools, as the award gives teachers accredited skills that will enable them to deal competently with emergencies in pools where supervised school swimming is undertaken,” Mr Franks concluded. 
STA is dedicated to raising standards in water safety, and this new award is seen as an important life skill for teachers who are responsible for supervising structured swimming activities.  STA is also promoting the Pool Safety Award for inclusion on the National Qualifications Framework, with support from SkillsActive.