HOW TO KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE
Two near drownings in wake of campaign to Save Our Schoolkids
THE near-drownings of two toddlers and the death of a little girl this week has rocked our region.
As two families hold their daughters close, and a third mourns their loss, parents are signing their children up for critical lifesaving classes.
Seamus Graham, 9, is one of many of the region’s children who will take part in the Downs Little Lifesaving program.
It’s just another way that we can Save Our Schoolkids.
EVEN Tasmania has a better school swimming program than Queensland, despite the southern state lacking our beloved warm water lifestyle.
Queensland trails every other state in the country for water safety and swimming lessons in primary schools, with no compulsory, comprehensive or certified scheme to ensure our kids are water safe.
In a shock for Queensland parents, even southern states with a reputation for frigid water are better regarded by swim and water safety experts.
Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, NSW and Victoria, have implemented school programs.
Victoria launched a mandatory swim safety program after owning up to shocking figures that showed how few children could swim or save themselves.
The compulsory Victorian water safety certificate was launched this year after researchers found an estimated 60 per cent of Victorian children were leaving primary school unable to swim the 50m length of an Olympic-sized pool continuously.
Between 2000 and 2014, there were 229 drowning and neardrowning incidents involving children aged 5-14 in the southern state of which 32 were fatal.
Victoria introduced compulsory lessons this year after a successful pilot that followed a $9.15m funding boost.
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace yesterday pointed to the large expanses of regional areas in Queensland, saying it makes it hard to introduce sweeping rules through schools when swimming facilities were not always accessible.
But experts say the successful, 100-year-old Western Australian model could help overcome distance difficulties.
WA schools offer an Intern program for children who can get to a pool but for those who can’t, the lessons are available during vacation periods under the Vac Swim banner. It also makes lessons available in open water – meaning swim teachers can use other waterways if no pool is available.
More than 53,000 WA kids passed the test of being able to swim a continuous 50m in 2017.
The Tasmanian Swimming and Water Safety Program is a compulsory program for Years 3, 4, and 5 students in government schools.
The scheme comes with an annual $2.5 million price tag, with schools paying $3 a student but also having to cover transport and pool hire.