Water Safety Education remains a key priority for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service

Education on the dangers of water, and delivering clear, practical and memorable safety messaging, is a key priority for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, particularly following recent tragic incidents across the country, including the death of a young boy in Cheshire.

As part of the Service’s Water Safety Strategy, which has been in place for the last 18 months, the Prevention Delivery Team delivers dedicated water safety assemblies to Key Stage 3 students throughout Cheshire. These sessions are delivered free of charge by trained staff and subject matter specialists, in line with the PSHE curriculum.

The assemblies are designed to be interactive, practical and informative, and include:

  • Cold water shock and its effects

  • Hidden dangers

  • The difference between swimming pools and open water environments

  • Risk-taking

  • The Water Safety Code

  • Emergency actions, including calling 999, Float to Live and our “Shout, Reach, Throw, Don’t Go” messaging

  • How to use a throw line

  • Facts and statistics to help reinforce the seriousness of the risks

The programme has been developed using both local incident data and national drowning data to ensure our prevention work is focused on the highest-risk groups, locations and behaviours. Alongside mainstream schools, we have also developed tailored packages for SEND settings and home-educated young people to ensure the messaging is accessible and inclusive.

The programme continues to be rolled out to schools throughout the county and continue to engage directly with schools to encourage participation. To date, more than 10,000 young people across Cheshire have taken part in the sessions, with feedback from both students and staff being very positive.

In addition to our KS3 work, we are currently developing further approaches aimed at younger children, alongside wider seasonal safety messaging for students, schools, parents and carers ahead of the summer holidays and periods of warmer weather. This supports our wider prevention and community engagement activity throughout the year, including targeted campaigns in known hotspot areas and partnership working through the Cheshire Water Safety Group and other local stakeholders.

As part of our wider prevention work, we continue to deliver educational programmes through Safety Central, our award-winning education centre. Working with schools, colleges, youth groups and community organisations throughout Cheshire, including SEND settings, the centre provides interactive sessions for young people from primary age upwards, covering both fire safety and dedicated water safety education.

Since September 2024, more than 6,600 attendees from across the county have taken part in these sessions. Feedback from schools, parents, carers and support staff continues to be extremely positive, particularly regarding the practical and lasting impact of the learning provided.

The Service also works alongside leisure centres and swimming providers to support water safety education for all age groups, including primary school and Key Stage 2 pupils.

Preventing water-related deaths and injuries remains a key priority for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, and we will continue working with partners, schools and communities to promote safer behaviours around water.

For more information or to book one of the interactive sessions, visit the Service website. To read our Water Safety advice, visit Water safety.