Weston Super Mare Swimming Club - Safe Supervision of Programmed Swimming Lessons and Training Sessions in Swimming Pools

August 2024

1.0 Introduction

This guidance has been produced for owners and operators of all public and private

swimming pools in the UK who have a duty to ensure the safety of swimming

teaching (lessons) and coaching (training) activities. It is also for those who are

responsible for the provision of these services such as schools, swim schools, local

authorities, non-profit organisations, clubs, private clubs and commercial

management organisations.

This guidance should be used in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive

publication Managing Health and Safety in Swimming Pools – HSG179, which

provides guidance for those who have any involvement with the operation and

management of health and safety in swimming pools.

Owners, operators and occupiers of swimming pools must follow the general duties

and responsibilities in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management

of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. They are obliged to take all

reasonable and practicable measures to ensure teaching and coaching activities are

conducted safely.

Owners and operators have the overall responsibility for every person on the

premises. Hirers such as schools and clubs also have responsibilities and the

relationship between the pool operator and the hirer’s responsibilities should be

specified in the operating procedures and pool hire agreement. Care should be taken

if/when sharing data on qualifications and ongoing training between owners,

operators and occupiers to ensure full compliance with GDPR.

2.0 What does ‘safe supervision’ mean?

Safe supervision refers to a safe learning environment where those participating are

supervised throughout to ensure their safety. It does not address the quality of the

swimming lessons or coached sessions, or the ability of the swimming teacher to

teach swimming, which is addressed by organisations specialising in swimming

teaching and coaching.

Every swimming pool must operate to legislation and guidance in the UK. Site-

specific factors are key in developing the procedures and processes for safe

supervision.

3.0 Definitions/clarifications

What makes a teacher or coach (HSG179 para 102) suitably competent to

provide safe supervision for their class/squad?

For a teacher/coach to be suitably competent to provide safe supervision, an

individual should have been trained and assessed as competent to:

·

supervise the group.

·

recognise when someone requires any form of help.

·

provide the necessary rescue.

·

be able to recover the individual to a safe place on the side of the pool.

·

provide immediate first aid.

·

follow site-specific procedures for each venue where they provide

teaching/coaching.

They must have one of the below qualifications along with site-specific and regular

ongoing competency-assessed CPD training relative to their lifeguard/rescue

qualification:

·

RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ).

·

STA Pool Lifeguarding.

·

RLSS UK National Rescue Award for Swimming Teachers and Coaches

(NRASTC).

·

RLSS UK National Rescue Award for Swimming Teachers and Coaches Light

(NRASTC Light)*.

·

STA Safety Award for Teachers.

* Please note: for those holding RLSS UK NRASTC Light Award, staff qualified as

Lifeguards or First Aiders should be available to respond quickly to a swimming

teacher/coach in the event of an emergency.

Please refer to HSG179 137-147 for more information on ongoing CPD/refresher

training.

Qualification Guide

·

RLSS UK National

Pool Lifeguard

Qualification

(NPLQ).

STA Pool

Lifeguarding.

·

Site-specific PSOP.

·

Content of qualification

(CPD).

·

Rescue a manikin from

the deepest part of the

pool they are working at.

Programmed

sessions

unprogrammed

sessions.*

·

RLSS UK National

Rescue Award for

Swimming

Teachers and

Coaches

(NRASTC).

RLSS UK National

Rescue Award for

Swimming

Teachers and

Coaches Light

(NRASTC Light).

STA Safety Award

for Teachers.

·

Site-specific PSOP.

·

Content of qualification

(CPD).

·

Rescue a manikin from

the deepest part of the

pool they are working at.

·

Deep water spinal rescue

and recovery from the

water where required

(above chest height or

out of comfortable

standing depth of the

rescuer).

Programmed

sessions ONLY

Supervision

can only be

provided for the

lesson/session

they are

teaching/

coaching.*

Definition Qualifications Competency requirement Suitable for

Pool lifeguard-

·

qualified

teachers/coaches

Rescue-qualified

·

teachers/coaches

*When pool lifeguard-qualified teachers/coaches are supervising

unprogrammed pool sessions as part of a lesson, an additional risk

assessment should be carried out to ensure participants are supervised

appropriately as per the swimming pool admission policy. Please see HSG179

(76-101) for guidance.

*Where programmed sessions are the only activity in the pool, rescue-qualified

teachers/coaches may provide the safety cover for the activity. The operator

should conduct a full risk assessment to ensure this is suitable. Swimming

teachers/coaches should be responsible for independent groups and not have

general supervision responsibility across the pool/area.

Helpers/spotters

A helper/spotter provides support to the teacher by watching and supporting

participants from the side of the pool or in the water.

Helpers/spotters who do not hold a pool lifeguard/rescue qualification do not have

the relevant training or assessed competence to distinguish a swimmer in difficulty

and cannot provide supervision and should not be considered as a control measure

for risk reduction when risk assessing safe supervision.

Helpers and support teachers/coaches who are not part of the identified pool

lifeguard/rescue cover for the pool must have their roles and responsibilities clearly

identified in the PSOP.

Unprogrammed sessions

Unprogrammed sessions do not have a formal structure, are not disciplined,

controlled and continually monitored. There is an increased risk during

unprogrammed sessions due to the unpredictable nature of the participants. When a

teacher/coach designates time during a lesson to ‘free play’ this will become

unprogrammed and a teacher/coach with a rescue qualification would not be suitable

to provide supervision.

Examples include: Public/general swim, fun sessions and float/inflatable sessions.

Programmed sessions

Programmed activities are those with a formal structure, i.e. disciplined, supervised

or controlled and continuously monitored from the poolside.

Examples include: swimming lessons, parent/carer and baby sessions, coaching

sessions and other tuition such as competitive swimming, diving, water aerobics,

artistic swimming, water polo and teaching/coaching water activities to people with

special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

Risk assessment

‘Risk assessment’ is a term used to describe the overall process or method by which

you identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm. You then

determine suitable and sufficient actions and measures to eliminate the hazard, or

control the risk when the hazard cannot be eliminated.

As an employer, you’re required by law to protect your employees, and others, from

harm under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999:

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3242/contents

Pool Safety Operating Procedures (PSOP)

The PSOP comprises of two parts:

1. Normal Operating Procedure (NOP)

The NOP sets out the way a pool operates on a daily basis, including details

of the layout, equipment, manner of use, user group characteristics, etc.

2. Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

The EAP gives specific instructions on the action to be taken, by all staff, if

there is an emergency such as a pool incident, evacuation, plant failure, etc.

All staff and hirers with responsibility for supervision should be trained and

competent in the content and delivery of the PSOP.

Shared use

Where the pool is in shared use and clearly divided between programmed and

unprogrammed aquatic activities, suitably pool lifeguard/rescue qualified

teachers/coaches may take responsibility (both for safety cover and teaching and

coaching) – but only for the programmed area of the pool.

The agreed participants:teacher/coach ratio established by a risk assessment of that

pool and identified within that pool’s PSOP should be followed.

The PSOP should clearly identify the emergency roles of the lifeguards,

teachers/coaches and additional helpers for all areas of the pool. Staff will need to

understand how they should manage the incident for the area of the pool they are

using.

Where the shared use is not clearly defined between programmed and

unprogrammed activities, supervision must be provided in accordance with the pool’s

PSOP for a pool operating in an unprogrammed session. This would require the

lifeguard staffing of the pool to take into consideration all of the swimmers in the

pool, whether within the programmed activity or unprogrammed activity.

More information is available in:

·

HSG179: Health and Safety in Swimming Pools (76-101)

www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg179.htm

·

Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) website

www.rlss.org.uk/hsg179

4.0 What does HSG179: Health and Safety in Swimming

Pools say about safe supervision for coaching/teaching

sessions?

The Health and Safety Executive publication Managing Health and Safety in

Swimming Pools – HSG179 details the following for the supervision of coaching and

teaching sessions:

Safeguarding coaching/teaching session

102. Suitably competent teachers and coaches may take responsibility, both for

supervision and teaching/coaching, of their class/squad.

103. The number of participants in a swimming lesson should be determined by your

risk assessment, with additional consideration given to the:

·

swimming ability of the participants and how they respond to the teacher in a

class environment;

·

age of the participants and their physical attributes in relation to the swimming

pool configuration;

·

temperature of the pool water and its effect on younger participants, elderly

participants and participants with disabilities.

104. There is no optimum or maximum ratio but these factors will have an impact on

the numbers in the class. Teachers and coaches may take responsibility, both for

supervision and teaching/coaching of their class/squad. See

www.swimming.org/swimengland/worker-health-and-safety

More information can be found at

www.sta.co.uk/wp-

content/uploads/2024/04/Code-of-Practice-v24.1.pdf

5.0 Operators’ responsibilities

Risk assessment

The role of the risk assessment and the safety factors that must be considered,

which are primarily the responsibility of pool operator, are detailed within HSG179.

For swimming pools with technology, guidance on the use of technology to aid

observation can be found in HSG179 (116-125).

Additionally, there are BS EN Standards addressing the safety of the design and

management of swimming pools (BS EN 15288 series and PAS 520), pool

equipment (BS EN 13451 series) and teaching aids (BS EN 13138) that can be used

when formulating safe operating procedures.

Local authority health and safety may also have their own guidance or policy, which

should be taken into consideration – particularly if they are included within the

operator contract.

Following this guidance, a risk assessment on programmed/structured sessions

must be produced. Under certain circumstances, programmed sessions may have

fewer lifeguards than unprogrammed/unstructured sessions, Lifeguard Zone Visibility

Tests (LZVTs) and the ability for a lifeguard to get to reach the furthest part of their

zone within 20 seconds will help assess the number required.

The risk assessment should take into account the increased/decreased potential risk

based on the skills, experience and qualifications of those supervising sessions. The

outcome of the risk assessment will set the supervision arrangements, these must

be detailed in the site’s PSOP and staff trained in the arrangements.

6.0 Teachers’/coaches’ responsibilities

Teachers/coaches must be trained, and able to carry out their role within the remit of

their qualification and pool design. It may be an operator’s requirement that

swimming teachers/ coaches hold their own individual insurance. A swimming

teacher/coach may wish to hold their own insurance to protect against any direct civil

action or loss of income etc.

Teachers and coaches must ensure that:

·

they attend a full induction at their workplace.

·

they understand the reason for and process of risk assessment.

·

they are fully trained, understand and can implement the site’s PSOP sections

that are relevant to their role.

·

the emergency procedures to evacuate the water and summon assistance are

practised regularly in accordance with the requirements of the EAP.

·

the participants understand and practise their response in an emergency.

·

they understand and can conduct dynamic risk assessments of their

teaching/coaching area prior to conducting lessons and notify the relevant

person of any safety issues that are identified.

·

they attend training and/or CPD courses as set out by their employer.

·

if they provide safe supervision they can rescue an approved rescue manikin

from the deepest part of the pool.

·

if they provide safe supervision in deep water they can conduct a deep water

spinal rescue and recovery from the water where required.

Whether fulfilling the teacher/coach role only, or fulfilling the pool lifeguard/rescue

qualified teacher/coach role, the teacher/coach must exercise constant supervision

and be able to observe all the participants at all times.

The teacher/coach has the legal responsibility to report any unsafe practices or

hazards to the pool management.

In extreme circumstances a teacher/coach may have to consider whether it is safe to

continue with an activity – but this decision should not be undertaken without first

notifying and consulting with the appropriate supervisor and/or employer.

7.0 Teaching/coaching positions

Teaching/coaching from the poolside

Teaching/coaching from the poolside provides the best position to oversee the whole

group in terms of safety and to provide appropriate feedback on the performance of

each participant within the group. Teachers/coaches must position themselves so

that they be seen and heard AND so they can see all participants at ALL times to be

able to provide safe supervision.

Operators should check to ensure that teachers/coaches can see the whole group

they are teaching/coaching at any time and there are no obstructions, for example,

glare, reflection or blind spots.

Teaching in the water

It is recognised that in some circumstances the pool operator or teacher/coach will

have assessed the risk and may feel it is more appropriate to teach from within the

water. This practice should only be considered after carrying out a risk assessment

giving careful consideration to all the potential factors. An example of this may be

where an adult and baby session is taking place and there is one-on-one direct

supervision of each child in shallow water.

Factors to take into account include pool depth, ability of participants, age of

participants, visibility, ability to respond to an emergency, safeguarding the

participants and the use of floatation equipment and lifesaving support. At all times,

the teacher/coach must be able to clearly see all participants and be close enough to

provide appropriate methods of manual support should this be required.

Where a teacher/coach is teaching in the water, it is strongly advised that a lifeguard

is also present at all times unless the risk assessment has determined that an

adequate level of safety cover can be provided. If teaching in the water without

additional lifeguard cover a risk assessment should be conducted. The risk

assessment should take into account the ability to see the whole group and teaching

area at all times including the pool floor and blind spots, access to alarms, access to

controls, poolside spectators and action in an emergency – including lone working if

appropriate.

Please refer to HSG179 (84-92) when considering supervision for sessions with

separate lifeguard cover to the teacher/coach. HSG179 section 89 gives indicative

numbers of lifeguards based on pool area.

8.0 Participant/Instructor ratios

The recommended ratios for supervision where the teacher/coach holds a pool

lifeguard/rescue qualification can be found further in this document. When

considering adapting the recommended ratios a risk assessment should be

conducted.

Example factors for increasing or decreasing the ratios can be found in the below

table:

Other considerations include:

·

the duration of the teaching/coaching session and provision for breaks away

from poolside

·

access to alarms and communication.

This is not an exhaustive list – there may be many other reasons specific to the pool

or type of lesson.

Increase in ratios

Decrease in ratios

Dedicated lifeguard observing the

lesson area only.

Poor definition of the teaching/coaching

area.

Additional helper(s) in the water

(their level of qualification should be

considered – i.e. Level 1 Swimming

Assistant).

Sharing the space with another activity.

Shallow water area. (Shallow water

is defined by the risk assessment in

relation to the height of the

participant.)

If the area is deeper than is suitable for that

level of lesson. (Deep water is defined by

the risk assessment in relation to the height

of the participant.)

Direct one-on-one supervision in the

water by an adult for each child.

Poor water clarity.

Steep floor gradients or uneven pool floor.

Ineffective non-slip tiles on the pool floor.

Language and additional needs of

participants.

Lone working or where the teacher/coach is

the only rescue/pool lifeguard qualified team

member on poolside.

The following table indicates guidance ratios for swimming/coaching sessions where

a teacher/ coach who holds a relevant pool lifeguard/rescue qualification, meets safe

supervision requirements and is teaching from poolside.

In the event that the teacher/coach does not hold a relevant pool lifeguard/rescue

qualification, or teaches in the water, it is strongly recommended that a lifeguard is

present at all times.

Lifeguarding requirements will be subject to the site’s risk assessment.

Please check directly with your insurance provider to see if there are any stipulations

for lifeguard cover or teachers/coaches pool lifeguard/rescue qualifications and ratios

etc. in the terms and conditions of your insurance package.

Adult and child

class (where adults

are in the water

with a child on a

one-to-one basis).

12 child and adult

pairs:1 teacher

·

Pool temperatures are critical for young

infants.

·

Pool depth to be suitable for the adult –

comfortable standing depth or shallower.

·

Considerations for twins – 1 adult: 2

children permitted, subject to risk

assessment. One child must be in fixed

floatation equipment such as discs, belts

or a floatation vest.

·

The swimming teacher may provide safety

cover from in the water where there is

direct adult supervision in the water for

each child, provided the teacher can see

all participants.

Pre-school children

(aged 3 to 4 years’

old)

6:1

·

Depth, layout and size of pool.

·

Ability of participants and SEND.

·

Provision of floatation equipment.

·

Provision of additional helpers/Level 1

Swimming Assistant.

·

Teacher in or out of the water.

Activity Participant:instructor Comments/considerations

ratio

·

Participants with or without floatation

equipment who cannot swim 10 metres

comfortably and safely using a recognised

stroke.

·

Depth, layout and size of pool.

·

Ability of participants and SEND.

·

Provision of equipment.

·

Provision of additional helpers/Level 1

Swimming Assistant.

·

Participants who have the ability to swim

10 metres comfortably and safely using a

recognised stroke.

·

Depth, layout and size of pool.

·

Ability of participants and SEND.

·

Provision of equipment - activity taking

place.

·

Should not include beginners and all

should be able to swim a minimum of 25

metres.

·

Mixed ability groups are often a necessity

for school swimming lessons.

·

The number of participants should fit the

lane/area.

·

The ratio should reflect the swimming

competence of the participants and the

activity taking place.

·

Consideration needs to be made for the

size of the pool ensuring that the whole

designated area can be suitably

supervised.

·

More information can be found in HSG

179: Health and Safety in Swimming

Pools.

Beginners 12:1

(children over 4

years and including

adult participants).

Improving 20:1

swimmers (children

and adults).

Mixed ability 20:1

groups, not

including beginners

(children and

adults).

Competitive club 30:1

swimmers.

·

All dives from the poolside should be

taught into a minimum depth of 1.8 metres

with 7.6 metres forward clearance. The

exception to this is where a qualified

coach/teacher is delivering training on the

Swim England Competitive Start Award or

as part of a competitive club session.

·