Irish water safety calls for vigilance ahead of summer holidays

To mark National Water Safety Awareness Week, Irish Water Safety(IWS) is appealing to teachers in Ireland's 3,500 primary schools to give the 500,000 children the vital information they need before the summer holidays.

IWS is reminding the public that people drown silently, quickly and sometimes in only inches of water.  They can drown beside others who are completely unaware. Children are particularly at risk and need constant supervision near water.

National Water Safety Awareness Week from June 15 to 21 is part of IWS’s public appeal to enjoy the water while keeping yourself and your family safe by taking advice from IWS’s website www.iws.ie.

In addition, IWS is appealing to parents to enroll their children in one of its classes being run by IWS Volunteers at open water venues nationwide. Further details are also available from the website.

IWS said children are naturally curious about water therefore parents should check if their local primary school has yet introduced Irish Water Safety’s Primary Aquatics Water Safety (PAWS) programme. It is a component of the primary school curriculum that teaches children how to stay safe around water. Much of the programme is easily delivered as it is classroom based yet many primary schools have yet to deliver this training.

With  schools due to close for summer, there is still time for teachers and parents to teach essential life skills to keep children safe from drowning. For more information on safety around water see www.iws.ie.