Keeping children safer around water

Andrew Clark, GLL’s Head of Sport and Aquatics, explains how GLL’s partnership with RLSS UK is keeping children engaged in swimming while equipping them with life-saving skills

The UK’s long, hot summer has been overshadowed by a series of tragic accidental drownings, many involving children and teenagers. Against this backdrop, charitable social enterprise leisure provider GLL - operator of Better Leisure Centres - has been working to place water safety at the heart of every stage of learning. Announced as the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s (RLSS UK’s) first Water Safety Education Partner earlier this year, GLL is embedding water safety messages, endorsed by RLSS UK, to give all pupils, from toddlers and school-age children to adults, essential water safety knowledge and life-saving skills. GLL has also integrated RLSS UK’s Rookie Lifeguard programme into the final level of its Better Swim School pathway. More than 7,500 pupils are already benefiting from the initiative, which gives older children the opportunity to learn lifesaving skills alongside their swimming lessons.

“Most parents don’t enrol their children in swimming lessons because they want to develop the next Adam Peaty,” says Andrew Clark, GLL’s Head of Sport and Aquatics. “They do it because they want to know their child will be safe around water.

“They want their children to understand the risks, recognise dangers and have the skills and confidence to keep themselves safe. RLSS UK is the UK’s leading and most trusted organisation for water safety, and the partnership aligns perfectly with the mission of our Better Swim School programme – to ensure everyone in the communities we serve has the opportunity to learn how to swim and stay safe in and around water.”

A UNIQUE SWIMMING MODEL

The partnership with RLSS UK reinforces GLL’s long-standing commitment to water safety and represents the latest stage in a wider rethink of swimming education. Running one of the largest swim school programmes in the UK, GLL offers 200,000 adults and children weekly lessons in more than 140 pools across the UK. The unique programme has been designed to keep youngsters engaged in swimming for longer. Clark, whose leisure career spans 25 years, including two decades with GLL, has seen countless children leave swimming as soon as they reach the minimum standard expected of them. “We asked ourselves why children stay involved in sports like judo for years, but so many stop swimming as soon as they can swim 25 metres,” he says. The answer, he believes, lies in the way lessons were organised. Traditional swimming programmes often see children changing teachers, classmates and lesson times every few months as they progress through the levels. This can be a logistical headache for families, especially those with more than one child. For children, lessons become less enjoyable when they are repeatedly leaving friendship groups.

Following Covid, GLL introduced a completely different model built around three broad stages: Foundation, Development and Academy. Children still progress according to ability but stay with their classmates and teachers for much longer, creating a greater sense of belonging while making the programme easier for parents to navigate. Themed lessons also ensure fun remains central to all sessions.

“The children become part of a team,” Clark says. “Parents get to know one another because they’re seeing the same families every week, and we’re not constantly asking people to change class times because someone has passed another level.”

Operationally, the model has transformed how lessons are delivered. Rather than one teacher managing a single class, multiple teachers work together under a lead instructor, making better use of pool space while maximising teaching time.

If teachers are moving children around or taking registers, that’s time children aren’t learning

Clark says that, in a 30-minute lesson, every minute counts. “If teachers are moving children around or taking registers, that’s time children aren’t learning,” he adds.

The result has been better engagement, improved efficiency and stronger retention.

“We’ve reduced the number of drop-out points, because children aren’t constantly chopping and changing classes,” Clark explains

ENGAGING CHILDREN FOR LONGER

The integration of RLSS UK’s Rookie Lifeguard programme into Academy lessons was the logical next step. Swimmers continue to develop their technique and stamina while also working towards Rookie Lifeguard Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Rookie Lifeguard teaches young people basic rescue and lifesaving skills, equipping them with the essential knowledge to recognise hazards, respond effectively in emergency situations, and stay safe in, on and around water. The programme also helps children to build their confidence, develop teamwork skills and foster leadership.

We’re competing with the hundreds of other activities that children can do. If swimming isn’t engaging, they’ll find something that is

“This isn’t about replacing swimming with lifesaving,” says Clark. “It’s about enhancing the experience. We’re competing with the hundreds of other activities that children can do. If swimming isn’t engaging, they’ll find something that is.”

To fill that gap, GLL is introducing social activities and team challenges alongside Rookie Lifeguard to create what Clark describes as a social club for older children who enjoy being in the water but don’t necessarily want to compete.

“Children typically start dropping out of swimming lessons when they move to secondary school, but we’re seeing 14- and 15-year-olds continuing through Academy sessions,” Clark adds

The programme also creates a natural pathway into employment. Every year, GLL recruits hundreds of lifeguards and swimming teachers. Introducing young people to lifesaving not only builds confidence in the water but also opens their eyes to potential career opportunities available in the sector.

PROTECTING POOLS FOR THE FUTURE

According to Clark, swimming sits at the heart of GLL’s business. “Our unique selling point is that, in every area where we operate, people have the opportunity to swim,” he says.

He believes innovation will continue to shape the customer experience, from using music and sensory lighting to transform pool environments for specific sessions, to technology that supports lifeguards – such as using camera systems to support lifeguards.

“The cameras are brilliant,” he says. “RLSS UK, as experts in pool safety, has done really well in supporting the industry to embrace technology. It’s absolutely in line with what the sector needs and enables lifeguards to do a better job.”

However, innovation must sit alongside investment. Operating pools is increasingly challenging due to ageing infrastructure, rising utility costs and growing maintenance pressures.

“We need a national pool strategy,” Clark says. “Swimming pools are unique assets. They support school swimming, rehabilitation, health programmes, fitness, community activity, competitive sport and water safety education, but we need targeted funding to modernise the nation’s pool stock and make facilities more efficient to run. Not every pool needs to host galas and competitions and they don’t all need the same design or facilities. But swimming pools need a long-term strategy of their own.

“If we want future generations to learn to swim, stay safe around water and enjoy the benefits of swimming, we have to protect these vital community assets.”