Learning to be safe – a visit from the RHLI on water safety
Learning to be safe – a visit from the RHLI on water safety
Recently, Year 5 had a visit from Alan, a volunteer for the RNLI. This was a brilliant opportunity for children to learn about the role that the RNLI play in saving lives out at sea, in addition to further developing their understanding of water safety from Year 4 swimming lessons.
First, the children were asked to guess what amount of water they could get into difficulty in. To visualise this, Alan got the children to place their thumbs and index fingers on each hand together and place them around their nose and mouth. This showed children the amount of water it might take to affect their ability to breathe.
Year 5 then played a game of ‘spot the danger’, where Alan showed a cartoon beach scene and the children had to spot dangers. Here the children learnt that main dangers of outdoor water:
- The water is always moving
- The edges are unstable
- It’s cold
- Underwater hazards
The children worked through the session learning valuable lessons like the best way to float (which is in a starfish shape). They earnt their water safety passport and learnt the 4 main messages to remember if they ever found themselves or someone else in danger.
Stop and think. Stay together. Float. Call 999.
