Water safety training for Norland students #SpringClean

This week is the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s #SpringClean campaign which aims to make parents and home care givers, including Nannies, aware of the dangers of water around the home and garden. Around 400 people drown in the UK every year and the RLSS UK aims to prevent drowning through water safety education.


The training at Norland has an extremely strong emphasis around the overall safety of children. As part of this training, Lucy Herd,
whose son Jack tragically died from drowning in the garden pond in 2010, will be delivering a training session to Norland third year students, Set 37, before they start their Newly Qualified Nanny (NQN) posts.  All students will also take part in a lifesaving course before starting work

Since losing her son Lucy has been supporting RLSS UK in the delivery of water safety and drowning prevention messages to raise awareness of the dangers of water, particularly in the home. Lucy has also set up Jack’s Rainbow* to support suddenly bereaved families.

RLSS UK believes that the majority of drownings are preventable. In order to help everyone be safer around water, here are RLSS UK’s top tips on keeping children safe from drowning within the family home:

1.    Empty paddling pools and buckets as soon as they have been used. Always turn paddling pools upside down once empty
2.    Securely cover all water storage tanks and drains
3.    Always pull out the plug
4.    Never leave children unattended at bath time. Empty the bath as soon as possible after use
5.    Always put the bath plug up high and out of reach
6.    Always keep the bathroom door shut
7.    Always use self-closing gates, fences and locks to prevent children from gaining access to pools of water

For more information about the work of the RLSS see www.rlss.org.uk.

*Jack’s Rainbow was created to help suddenly bereaved families create new memories after the death of a child after Lucy Herd lost her son, Jack when he drowned in her garden pond in August 2010. Jack’s Rainbow offers training and awareness days and campaigns for statutory Bereavement Leave (parents whose child has died are not entitled to any statutory leave).

www.jacksrainbow.com.www.jacksrainbow.com