Document Actions
Your Child, Your Focus
Summer is here and with the weather heating up, you and your family will be most likely heading down to the pools to cool off and have a bit of fun.
Our Watch Around Water campaign has begun and it is important that all parents are aware of these guidelines to ensure a fun and safe time at the pools:
- Children under 6 years of age must be directly supervised by an adult within arms reach in the water at all times.
- Children under 11 years of age must be directly supervised by an adult at all times.
What is Watch Around Water?
In response to a number of drowning deaths involving young children at Western Australian public swimming pool facilities the Watch Around Water program was first introduced in 2004.
Watch Around Water was developed to address the growing industry concern regarding parental supervision of young children at public swimming pool facilities. The program looks to:
- Provide state-wide supervision standards and practices at public swimming pool facilities
- Increase lifeguards skills
- Raise awareness of and provide information to parents of what constitutes appropriate levels of supervision for young children and public swimming pool facilities
- Increase the proportion of parents who effectively supervise their children while at public swimming pool facilities
Since the inception of the program there has been no drowning deaths involving young children recorded at any public swimming pool facility in Western Australia.