By Taz Hartwick Responsibility and Safety

Preventing Accidents Brainstorming!  What are some unsafe situations that we could run into as instructor?  How do we prevent these?

Preventing Accidents Safety supervision Learners must never be left unsupervised in the water. Behaviour All learners must be made aware of the rules and regulations of the facility and the standard of behaviour is expected Checking numbers Instructors should check their attendance list before and after each lesson or during breaks. Medical histories Instructors should be aware of any medical conditions of the learners in the class (ie epilepsy, asthma or diabetes). Instructors should keep a special watch on these learners and know what to do if a medical emergency arises

Preventing Accidents Language Instructors should be sensitive to the abilities of learners to understand and spread the language being used for instruction. Care must be taken to ensure that instructions are clearly understood by all learners. Weather Extremes of temperature. Either hot or cold. Can be dangerous. Long sessions in direct sunlight or wind should be avoided. Lightning can be dangerous: learners should be instructed to evacuate the water if a storm threatens. Waterfronts and beaches Instructors should be knowledgeable about the characteristics of and certainly any dangers in, open water teaching environments ( depth, bottom conditions, winds, waves and currents). Emergency procedures Make sure you know them and how to responded to them.

Legal responsibilities As instructors we do have legal responsibilities and duties in caring for the safety and in the case of a accident the treatment of the learners in your class. What are some situations in where there could be legal ramifications?

Hygiene considerations Use of toilets When teaching make sure that you provide washroom breaks as to not disrupt the flow of the class then they do need to go. Health regulations Make sure that you are following health regulations. Thing such as preventing learners from swimming that may have ringworm, ear infections and bowel or bladder incontinence.

Hygiene considerations Manikins Clean, dry manikins with no cracks or torn surfaces are unlikely to transmit infections. However, this might not always be the case. Considerations when using manikins are:  You should know the specific cleaning procedures recommended by the manufacture.  Learner should not participate if they have skin infection on the hands face or mouth or have a respiratory infection.  Ideally, each learner should have a personal manikin.  Cracked or torn parts of manikins should be discarded and replaced.

Formations Can proper or improper formations affect the safety of learners?