Introduction

• Fire Alarm and Evacuation

• Breaks
• Smoking
• Toilets
• Policies (reasonable adjustment)
• Swimming pool requirements
• Jewellery / piercings
• Injuries / medical conditions
• Diving / diving to depths
• Goggles / spectacles / contact lenses
 rlssuk.tahdah.me/account/registernew

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Use the link above to create an Use the link above to activate
RLSS UK Account so you can your RLSS UK Account.
access your certificate(s) following
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Number (found on your certificates
You will also get access to online or any correspondence from RLSS
learning opportunities and RLSS UK
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Carefully input your email address Update your details to ensure you
to ensure you receive the account receive the account verification
verification email from us and make email from us and notification of
a note of your Society Number to when your certificate is ready.
provide to your Trainer.
Award

• This is not a lifeguard qualification, and does not qualify you to

supervise unprogrammed sessions
• If you would like to be a lifeguard, you can obtain RLSS UK
National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ)

• What is the difference between:

• NRASTC LIGHT
• NRASTC
Attendance requirements

• 100% attendance required

• External assessment at the end of the course
• The course is made up of three sections:

Section 1 The teacher, swimming pool and class management

Section 2 Intervention, rescue and emergency action
Section 3 CPR, AED and first aid
1a
Your role and responsibilities

In small groups discuss what your role and responsibilities are to

ensure activities in the pool are safe and run as well as possible?

Think about before, during and after.

Your role and responsibilities

Your main role is to instruct, coach and support your participants to

develop their abilities in the water. But you also need to keep them
safe.

You are the closest member of

the supervision and rescue
team to your own class
Your role and responsibilities
To make sure activities in the pool are safe

• Stay fully informed of the latest developments through your governing

body (for example, Swim England)
• Begin and end the session on time
• Supervise the participants under your control
• Make sure any teaching equipment is in good condition and safe to use
• Keep the teaching area safe throughout the lesson
• Leave the teaching area safe at the end of the lesson
• Report any health and safety concerns to your line manager
• Help the swimming pool staff if there is an emergency
• Follow your lesson plans and any risk assessments
Your role and responsibilities

As in all areas of work, you are responsible for your own actions.
When something goes wrong, by law your actions will be closely
examined to see whether you:

• Dealt with the incident effectively;

• Followed the pool’s procedures; and
• Followed your training for what to do in an emergency

Remember: What you do or don’t do will affect the outcome of an

emergency and how serious the incident becomes. You must always
act professionally and follow your training.
Working with team support

Although a lifeguard may be on the poolside supervising activities,

you are always responsible for the safety of your class. Even if there
are no lifeguards or other trained rescuers on the poolside, they
may be available to support you if there is an emergency.
Induction training

Your employer (swim school operator) will arrange for you to have
training in the systems and procedures used where you work.
By law, your employer (swim school operator) must give you an
induction to make sure you fully understand the procedures at your
workplace

In small groups discuss everything that should

be included within an induction.
Induction training

An induction usually includes:

• Basic information about health and
safety
• Information about your employment
• Staffing arrangements
• The normal operating plan
(for running the building safely on a
daily basis)
• The emergency action plan
• Day to day facility operations
• Uniform and equipment standards
(including jewellery)
Ongoing training and competency
assessment

• Your employer also has a legal responsibility to make sure you

maintain your knowledge, understanding, safe teaching
standards and your knowledge of the pool safety operating
procedures
• It is important that you
keep up with any changes
to these procedures
Health and safety law
Although there is no direct law about managing swimming pools,
you and your employer must meet the requirements of law called
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
YOU MUST
• Take reasonable care of your health and safety, and that of others;
• Contribute to safety arrangements and developing the PSOP
• Tell your employer immediately if you lose or notice a fault in any
personal protective equipment they have provided;
• Co-operate with your employer
• Not interfere with or misuse anything provided for health, safety, or
welfare;
• Use machinery, equipment, chemical substances and safety devices
in line with the training and instructions you have been given; and
• Tell your manager about any situation that you think puts health and
safety at risk.
Pool Safety Operating Procedures (PSOP)

Pool Safety Operating Procedures are frequently used in the

swimming pool industry including that of swimming schools

The Pool Safety Operating Procedures (PSOP) consists of two

documents:

• Normal Operating Plan (NOP), outlining the safe day to day

running of the building

• Emergency Action Plan (EAP), a detailed document

outlining what to do in foreseeable emergencies
Pool Safety Operating Procedures (PSOP)
Normal Operating Plan
Details of the pool(s) Water testing, quality and
Dimensions and depths, features and temperatures
equipment Clarity of water, normal chemical levels

Potential risk factors Conditions of hire to outside

In accordance with the risk organisations
assessments the main hazards within Service level agreements set in advance,
the pool and of users particularly at risk rules of behaviour, any conditions of
hire
Safe systems of work
Numbers of staff required to provide
safety cover, roles and responsibilities of
staff, appropriate infant wear
Pool Safety Operating Procedures (PSOP)
Emergency Action Plan
Lack of water clarity Lost or found child
Pool becomes cloudy, conditions are Search procedures, how and when to
considered outside parameters notify the police

Serious injury to a bather Faeces, blood or vomit in the water

As defined in the policy, recording/ Who to inform, equipment to use,
reporting process to handle/ remove it, disposal,
recording/ reporting
Evacuation procedures
Fire/ toxic gas
Policies

In addition to the PSOP swimming pools, swimming schools and

other swimming lesson providers will have other policies which you
will need to be familiar with:

• Safeguarding Policy
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
• Equality and Diversity Policy
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
1b
Types of pools and lessons

There is no such thing as a normal swimming pool. They can be any

shape or size, from a traditional rectangular design to a leisure pool
with flumes, wave-making equipment, and other features

There are many types of pools. Some facilities may have more than
one pool, each with different designs and features
Leisure pool
Diving pool
Traditional, competition and learner pools
Olympic 50m or multipurpose pools
Health club pools (small pools)
Domestic pools (which have been converted
to a commercial pool)

Domestic pools (pools in homes and gardens) are usually smaller

and shallower than health club pools. Many people who have a pool
at home rent it out for swimming lessons. A domestic pool is
approximately 8m long by 4m wide and can be indoors or outdoors.

Important: Changes to the pool filtration system may need to be

made to ensure the pool is safe for commercial use and this
includes having suitable written procedures in place.
Hydrotherapy pools and high sided pools
Types of lessons

As you will already know…..

• Every lesson is different, they can be anything such as adult and

baby, adult and child, learn to swim and school swimming
lessons through to coaching, water polo and lifesaving classes.
• Each lesson should have a clear lesson plan for delivery, this
may be provided by your governing body or swim school. Or you
may create it yourself.
What is a programmed session?

• Programmed sessions have a

formal structure and are
continuously supervised,
controlled, and monitored from
the poolside

• Examples include swimming

lessons/coaching, water
aerobics, synchronised
swimming

• Teachers should hold a suitable

supervision qualification
IMPORTANT

• General swim and play sessions are unprogrammed sessions,

even when they take place briefly within a programmed session
(such as a free swim at the end of a swimming lesson)
• When free swimming time (or another unprogrammed activity) is
used within programmed activities, you should check whether
lifeguards need to be on duty. This information should be
available in your normal operating plan
Managing and assessing risk

The purpose of completing a risk assessment is to:

• Look at the pool and identify all the dangers (hazards) that
have the potential to cause injury or illness

And

• Identify measures to reduce the

likelihood (risk) of an accident happening
Managing and assessing risk

• A hazard (danger) is something with the potential to cause harm

• A risk is how likely it is that harm will be caused

• A control measure is the things we do to control risk

Types of hazards

Risk assessments should consider the following:

Premises and utilities the design of the pool, its structure and features, power
and water
Task and activities teaching, setting up equipment, diving, and swimming,
removal and placement of pool cover

People types of pool users, their ages, their abilities, how many
there are, and how they behave
Types of hazards

Using your manual:

In small groups visit the poolside, can you identify 2 hazards within
your facility for each section.
Types of hazards - examples
Risk assessments should consider the following:
Risk assessments should consider the following:
Task and activities Equipment for swimming lessons
Premises and utilities The depth
Water of the
aerobic pool
equipment
People Weak or vulnerable swimmers
Troughs
Starting blocks
Show-offs, boisterous or rowdy swimmers
Gutters and handrails
Lane ropeswearing
Swimmers buoyancy aids
Floor surfaces
Lane flagsnot accompanied by an adult
Children
Glare and reflection on the surface of the water
Pool hoist
Medication
Drain covers
Cleaning
Young children
Lane ropes
Starting
Behaviour blocks
thatand backstroke
could increase flags
hazards for swimmers:
Pool steps
Misusing equipment in the water;
Hoists
Pushing and fighting;
Moveable
Bombing and floors
jumping into the water
Booms
Diving into the shallow end
Diving boards and platforms
Dynamic risk assessment

Dynamic risk assessment is the practice of observing, assessing

and analysing an environment while we work, to identify and remove
risk. The process allows individuals to identify a hazard in real-time
and make quick decisions regarding their own safety and that of
others.

Can anyone provide an

example of this?
  Is it safe for the session to take place?
Pre-class safety considerations
 Is the rescue equipment in place?

Prior to the
 Is the teaching
commencement of afitsession,
equipment you may be required to
for purpose?
complete a pre-class safety check to ensure the environment is
ready
 Isand fit for purpose. The checks may include, but are not
the class area set up as it should be? (for example; depth,
limited to:
lane ropes)

 Registers and lesson plans available?

 Water quality checked? (water temperature, pool disinfection

levels, visibility)

 Is back up/ supervision in place for the lesson to start? (for

example; lifeguard, first aider)
Managing safety during lessons

You should
• Continuously supervise your class, avoiding becoming distracted
or focusing for too long on a particular participant
• Count the number of people in your class (or take a register)
before, during and after the activity
• Be aware of the effects of glare and reflection on the water
making it hard to see the pool bottom
• Get into the water to teach only if all the participants can still be
supervised properly (your normal operating plan will explain how
to make sure of this)
Managing safety during lessons

You should
• Be the last to leave the area, after making sure all your class
have left safely
• Be sure that everyone in your class understands all the safety
instructions, particularly if there are problems with understanding
language
• Make sure there is enough safety and rescue equipment
available
• Be aware of the appropriate lines of communication, such as the
telephone or pool-assistance alarm
• Test all participants in shallow water before starting activities in
deep water
Discipline

You should
• Supervise the behaviour of your class at all times
• Make sure your instructions and signals are clear, understood,
and obeyed immediately, especially when you ask people to stop
what they are doing and move to safety (or get out of the pool)
• If part of your normal operating plan, use a whistle as a safety
command and be confident about using it
Responsibilities of Parents and Guardians
• Not allowing their child to attend lessons if the child has been
unwell
• Making sure the child goes to the toilet and showers before the
lesson
• Making sure the child has the appropriate swimwear and
equipment for the lesson (for example, swim hat, goggles, long
hair tied back, swim nappies)
• Supervising the child until you take over responsibility and
supervision
• Being available throughout the lesson to take the child to the toilet
or if there is an emergency (for example, if the fire alarm goes off)
• Promptly collecting the child at the end of the lesson, when they
will be responsible for supervising the child again
Swimming pool and lesson rules

1. Changing rooms
Put sweets
•2. Before and chewing
entering the pool gum in the bin before going onto the poolside
• On
3. Use
Take the
the toilet
offpoolsidebefore entering
any dangerous thesuch
jewellery water
as hoop earrings or large watches before
going onto the poolside
Do notwater
If the
•4. In get into
possible, the before
shower water before being
entering the given
waterpermission
•• Non-swimmers
Tell the attend
Do not should
teacherthe
if you stay within
areifleaving
lesson athe
clearly
you have pooldefined
been anyarea (forifand
forparticularly
ill, reason example,
youtell
have with
the marker
teacher
had
ropes)
when they
sickness or return
diarrhoea
• If swimmers are swimming in lanes, they should follow lane rules for example
following directional signage

• Diving into shallow water (below 1.5m) is not allowed

• Get into the pool safely, in a way that is appropriate for the depth of water and your
ability. Leave enough room for others in the water

• Running, pushing, ducking, and splashing other people is not allowed

• Follow the teacher’s instructions at all times

Collection and drop-off points
 Teacher to-participants ratio

The teacher-to-participants ratio will vary for each type of session,

for example:
• Adult and baby classes
• Beginner swimming lessons
• School swimming lessons
• Improver swimming lessons
• Intermediate swimming lessons
• Coaching and club sessions
• Therapy
• Diving
Your employer will carry out the risk assessment following industry guidance, such as:
• Health and Safety in Swimming Pools (HSG 179)
• Guidance from Governing Bodies and Awarding Organisations
Swimmers with special educational needs
and/ or disability (SEND)

You might work with disabled swimmers in standard swimming

lessons, specialist sessions, or on a one-to-one basis for swimming
or therapy activities