Swimming and water safety in the heart of the Kimberley
Royal Life Saving WA recently sent a team of four swimming instructors to Halls Creek, in the heart of the Kimberley, to conduct vital swimming and water safety lessons.
147 students from Halls Creek District High School and Warlawurra Catholic School took part in the 10 lessons, which were held over a two-week period.
“The behaviour of all the children was second to none and seeing the smiles and interactions with the instructors was lovely to see,” said instructor, Amanda Viljoen.
Royal Life Saving ran the Halls Creek program last year, with most of the same teachers returning for 2022.
“The kids loved seeing their familiar faces and the instructors were keen to see how much they had improved since they last saw them,” said Catherine Buckley, Royal Life Saving Coordinator.
Ranging from pre-primary through to high school, the children were taught a range of vital swimming and water safety skills to build water confidence and swimming ability.
Laine Skeen, a student from Halls Creek District High impressed the instructors by going for her Stage 14 ‘Accompanied Rescue’ learning non-contact tow rescue techniques, self-preservation in rescue situations and how to perform an individual search in deep water.
Royal Life Saving Senior Manager of Education, Trent Hotchkin says recent data shows that Aboriginal children are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal drowning incident than non-Aboriginal children in our state.
“Limited water safety awareness combined with very low participation levels in swimming and water safety programs have been noted as key factors,” he said.
Royal Life Saving and the Department of Education are working collaboratively to provide swim instructors to regional and remote communities to address this gap and ensure children don’t miss out on learning vital swimming and water safety skills. However, there is still a shortage of instructors available to take on these roles. If you would be interested in taking on this rewarding work you can submit an expression of interest at the link below.
