1. Fife Schools Water Safety Scotland Why is it necessary?

2. Background: Over 400 deaths in UK per year from drowning. Twice as likely to die from drowning in Scotland. Prestonhill quarry is the site of two tragic deaths in less than a twelve month period Not only do the deaths directly impact the families, but also friends and the wider community There is a need for analysis of statistics and careful consideration to the messaging regarding what circumstances are at play ie drink/risk taking/resilience At present there is a lack of necessity for water safety education within the Scottish system

3. Actions taken: A collaborative working group between Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, RNLI and Royal Life Saving Society was formed with the aim of developing a resource for primary and secondary schools that would raise awareness of the dangers of open water. A 4 week initiative took place on a local beach with education resources and demonstrations from RNLI and SFRS on water rescues. Examples were reconstructed on the water by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and RNLI. By using the subject matter expertise of each business area, two separate resources were produced for delivery in primary and secondary schools to reach larger audiences. Resources were presented to a Fife Council Education Officer who fully endorsed the proposal.

4. Actions continued: Secondary presentations are being piloted with 7 Secondary Schools in the South West Fife, Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath area. Pre and post questionnaires are electronically distributed to the pupils to analyse key learnings and outcomes from the events The training is delivered by a representative from the 4 agencies and Gillian Barclay (parent) on an individual year basis through assemblies (ie 6 assemblies in one day at each school). Feedback from pupils, parents and teachers has indicated a positive impact and a number of students have volunteered as peer educators for the primary audience.

5. A parents perspective – Mrs Gillian Barclay

6. A teachers perspective; Mr Brian Blanchflower Rector, Dunfermline High School

7. Next Steps: Complete the pilot phase in the secondary schools Analyse the statistics and feedback from the questionnaires Roll out the primary package with help of peer educators Build on the success, positive press coverage and share wider – already this has created interest at the world drowning conference, a submission has been made to world accident prevention conference in Helsinki and the National Water Safety Forum Our aim is to introduce water safety into the Scottish Curriculum

8. We would like your support to make this happen Thank you for listening