Responsibilities

Overall Council Responsibility

Buckinghamshire Council has a responsibility for ensuring safety in swimming in all maintained schools. As part of this responsibility BC, working with BSSP provides the Safe Practice in School Swimming Policy and Guidance.   BSSP provides guidance and support for school swimming and offers a variety of training, all of which equip schools for safe school swimming.

Important Information

The Governing Body holds this responsibility in Academies, Foundation, and Voluntary Aided schools.

School Responsibility - Governors and Headteachers

The Governing Body must ensure that a nominated member of staff is delegated the responsibility of Teacher in Charge of School Swimming and Water Safety and applies the Safe Practice in School Swimming Policy and Guidance to all aspects of school swimming.  This will incorporate the proper operation of the school’s own swimming facility or the use of a third-party pool.  Governors should meet with the Teacher in Charge of School Swimming and Water Safety to ensure the policy and procedures contained within this document are being applied. These include:

• completing risk assessments – member of staff carries a copy of this with them, together with emergency contact numbers in the School Swimming Folder (with copy held centrally by Headteacher),
• ensuring all staff accompanying pupils to school swimming have read and understood the current Normal Operating Procedure (NOP) and Emergency Action Plan (EAP),
• ensuring staff accompanying school swimming are qualified to support the delivery of school swimming and water safety and comply with their school’s Safeguarding Policy. Schools should be sending their own staff, who have been trained. Supply Teachers or trainees on placement should NOT accompany the school swimming lesson.
• ensuring relevant training for school swimming is in place for staff,
• understanding what school swimming qualifications allow staff to do and ensure staff are confident and competent to carry out their role in school swimming,
• maintaining a central record of staff qualifications and training (in Swimming folder) – BSSP hold a central database for all staff trained. Where individuals hold qualifications gained from other providers, they must submit copies of certificates to the BSSP Swimming Team,
• completing and returning the mandatory ‘Governors Checklist’ issued by BSSP every two years, see Appendix I,
• keeping current copies of the ‘Conditions of Hire’ and leisure provider insurance details within the School Swimming Folder,
• schools using pools other than their own requesting the pool’s Normal Operating Procedure (NOP) and Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and ensuring that accompanying school staff read these and sign to show an understanding of their responsibilities during the visit to the pool. These documents need to be kept in the School Swimming Folder,
• ensuring that all relevant and up to date medical and health information is maintained within the School Swimming Folder,
• Headteachers of schools with pools on their site attending the course entitled Swimming Pool Awareness for Headteachers, Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) - this requires refreshing every 3 years.

Teacher in Charge of School Swimming and Water Safety

This member of staff must maintain the School Swimming Folder which includes:            

• up to date copy of NOP and EAP for the pool used. This needs to be signed by all staff accompanying school swimming to show they have read and understand these documents,
• risk assessment for each group,
• registers, including medical conditions; additional needs; pupil ability and staff accompanying pupils,
• up to date list of staff qualifications and training,
• signed copy of Pool Hire Agreement,
• school Swimming Programme,
• printed copies of the online County Accident and reporting forms,

They should also:

• visit the pool before swimming programme commences to understand all relevant NOP/EAP aspects, risk assess & plan the programme with the specialist swimming teacher,
• complete Trips & Visits form (agreed by Headteacher). For Open Water Swimming, Swimming in the Sea, Use of Hotel Pools, see section on Educational Visits, page 75,
• undertake Risk Assessments (please refer to page 29 and Appendix A - C - Model Risk Assessments), signed by all staff involved (including Headteacher). This will include written information on pupils with medical conditions and/or additional needs and must be shared with the specialist swimming teacher prior to the School Swimming and Water Safety programme commencing. This information needs to be updated where necessary,
• complete and share relevant documents with leisure providers (schools may choose to use the following forms: Swimming class registers including information on pupils with medical conditions and/additional needs; information for Leisure Providers - Appendix X).

Accompanying School Staff

School staff have overall DUTY OF CARE that applies for any activity in which pupils are involved and they cannot transfer their duty of care to anyone else. This applies to all activities within the school curriculum and extra-curricular activities organised by the school during and outside of school hours, whether on or off school premises. 

School staff must:

• hold relevant, up to date qualifications,
• be given a clear role and understand the limits of their role,
• be confident on poolside,
• communicate effectively and appropriately with each other and leisure provider staff on safety issues,
• be suitably dressed for their role,
• ensure pupils are appropriately supervised when changing,
• ensure pupils are under control at all times,
• take head counts before, during and after sessions. This should be recorded in the swimming registers,
• follow the pool’s NOP and EAP; all staff on poolside should be aware of the emergency procedures of any external provision, ensuring that pupils are aware of what to do in the event of an emergency evacuation,
• hold responsibility for reporting on the progress of school swimming (through ongoing monitoring and guidance from leisure provider staff),
• be aware of the additional needs or medical conditions of the pupils they are teaching so that correct measures/precautions can be put in place with guidance from the specialist swimming teacher.

School Teachers should accompany their own classes to their school swimming lessons whenever possible, as they know their pupils well.  They should have an overview of the teaching of their pupils and the conduct of their class.  There should be a nominated member of staff accompanying each group, who holds responsibility for:

• progress of pupils,
• assessing confidence and competence of accompanying staff (with guidance from leisure provider staff),
• enforcement of policies and procedures,
• sharing of procedures and standards to all school staff involved in the School Swimming and Water Safety lesson.

Specialist swimming teachers also have a duty of care for the pupils directly in their control and for ensuring an appropriate School Swimming and Water Safety programme for the group.  It is the responsibility of the school staff to monitor the progress of the pupils, regardless of who teaches them. Equally, the teaching programme needs to be agreed before the course and if necessary moderated during the course.  Having a teacher standing on the side passively watching is a massive waste of talent and energy, which could otherwise benefit the class. Involvement, not simply lesson observation, not only reduces teacher pupil ratio, but also enhances the quality of experience for the pupils concerned.

Prior to their deployment to a poolside role, school staff should have the opportunity to express a lack of confidence or ability.  If staff lack confidence in the role, cannot swim or are reticent about being on poolside they should not accompany pupils to their school swimming lessons.

Important Information 

Specialist swimming teachers should work with school staff to oversee the assessment of pupils against Award Criteria to identify those pupils unlikely to meet the minimum requirements for National Curriculum Swimming.

School staff must remain on poolside to provide an assisting role to support the school swimming lesson and as a minimum, must hold the Swim England Support Teacher of School Swimming Certificate.  Please refer to the section on Teaching Qualifications, see page 44.

Statutory Information

When public pools are used for school swimming, the duty of care remains with the school staff.  Specialist swimming teachers may be employed to assist with the teaching of the lesson, but it is essential the school staff remain on poolside (the employer’s responsibility is not displaced by the employment of the swimming teacher, e.g. the responsibility for the care of students cannot be delegated).

(AfPE Safe Practice in PESSPA 2020)

The Specialist Swimming Teacher (e.g. leisure provider swimming teachers)

(Qualified to a minimum to Swim England Level 2 or STA equivalent) needs to:

• understand their role in school swimming,
• work in partnership with the Teacher in Charge of School Swimming and Water Safety and other School staff accompanying pupils swimming,
• liaise with lifeguards and other centre staff regarding the lessons,
• ensure a suitable and sufficient risk assessment is undertaken for each group involved in swimming activities,
• be aware of the additional needs and medical conditions of the pupils in their class, risk assessing these within the context of the swimming environment,
• ensure the safe conduct of the class whilst the pupils are in the water and on the poolside,
• enable pupils to have fun in and near water,
• prepare, plan and teach high-quality School Swimming and Water Safety lessons in partnership with the school appropriate to the pupils’ age and ability – showing good understanding of National Curriculum requirements,
• work with school staff to oversee the assessment of pupils against selected Award Criteria,
• ensure appropriate numbers of fully qualified lifeguards are on poolside,
• understand their role and responsibility in the case of an emergency (understand the pool’s NOP and EAP.

Mobile Phones

School staff should not be using or referring to their mobile phones during school swimming lessons as this could compromise their ability to give their full attention to their pupils and the lesson taking place.  Their primary responsibility is the safe supervision of their pupils. Please refer to the Institute of Swimming

For an outdoor school pool which may have no landline or alarm, the school may include the use of walkie-talkies in their NOP & EAP.  These must be fully charged and manned responsibly at all times.  Staff may have mobile phones as a backup (again, these must be fully charged with a reliable signal.

Important Information

However, carrying a mobile phone with a good signal and fully charged may form part of the school’s Risk Assessment for contacting emergency services or the school in the event of an incident or injury.