New Zealand Infant and Preschool Aquatics

Water Safety New Zealand has progressed the implementation of the above resource into New Zealand. Presenter training has been underway since January along with plans to roll out the launch of this resource into New Zealand.

Infant and Preschool Water Confidence is high on the agenda for WSNZ. 75% of all preschool drownings occur in the home (DrownBaseä 2000-2004). The role of introducing this resource to New Zealand goes a long way to ensuring New Zealand’s swim instructors have the opportunity to access world leading instructor training. Additionally, it supports small children developing both ability in the water and awareness of the respect water requires regardless of the environment.

AUSTSWIM have recently undertaken an international review of their courses in relation to others offered around the world. The AUSTSWIM program is leading in content and is in fact used a starting template for numerous resources worldwide.

Take a look at Aquanauts Swim School

The Aquanauts Swim School goes under the spotlight this month as our featured swim school. Working with preschool children is not new to Susie Fieldhouse, along with successfully educating both children and parents.

“A Safer child is a supervised child” is the educational message that Aquanaut Swim School owner Susie Fieldhouse-Flachsmann impresses on her staff and parents of young children who bring them for early aquatic lessons.

The highly successful pre-school programme has been developed over the last 25 years to take into account the whole child’s’ educational, emotional and developmental wellbeing. Fitting the programme to the child and not expecting the child to fit the programme, has seen many of the under 5s become comfortable in the Aquatic environment.

As we all know, being comfortable in the water is an essential life skill. This combined with a good educational programme for parents’ reiterating the message that no matter how competent their young child is in the controlled environment of a swim school, they do not have the cognitive skills to discern danger. Whilst children maybe safer as a result of ongoing participation in a well structured ongoing programme such as what Susie offers, constant supervision within sight and within reach is the only way to ensure children will be safer around the water.

Educating parents about the developmental benefits of the aquatic environment has been the key to creating a successful programme. Parents feel included in the process and can see the huge benefits outside of the safety issue. Benefits such as stronger immune systems meaning less illness especially over the winter months, fine and gross motor skill learning accelerated leading to enhanced learning abilities and the self esteem young children gain by participating in early aquatics.

Each month we will profile a New Zealand Swim School with a dedicated Infant and Preschool operation. Should you wish to submit information about your swim school and its philosophies for consideration please email matt@watersafety.org.nz

There are 144 public pools in New Zealand accredited to the PoolSafe Quality Management Scheme standard. These aquatic facilities have met the required criteria for each of the following:

1. Health and Safety Documentation
2. Supervision Standards
3. Pool Alone Policy
4. Water Quality

Facilities are granted a two year licence, enabling them to access marketing merchandise and material for display. During the two year period it is expected that the facility will be “spot-checked” on at least two occasions.

PoolSafe is relevant to all types of aquatic facilities be it small or large. The Aquagym facility is an example of what is primarily a teaching pool, with staff trained as lifeguards to ensure supervision standards and other PoolSafe requirements are met.

From the small to the large and of note are the South Island’s Moana Pool and QEII Pool facilities. Both of which comprise 50m swimming pools, learn to swim space, diving pools, wave pools and additional lane swimming, making them internationally advanced in design and supervision requirements. The newest PoolSafe facility is the Baywave in Tauranga.

Over 70 facilities have been reassessed and renewed their licence for another two years. The PoolSafe Quality Management Scheme has been in operation since 2002, the growing presence of PoolSafe facilities along with more and more “spot-checks” helps to ensure public swimming pools are safer and more enjoyable environments for all types of recreation and learning.