Information for Parents
As a result of the drowning incidents that have occurred in public aquatic facilities, the Western Australian State Coroner has made the following recommendations:
Competent lifeguards acting responsibility should provide an important safety feature, but they are not intended to and cannot be expected to, replace the close supervision of parents and teachers which is required for many children, particularly school aged children.
Lifeguards are employed on a 1:100 ratio and therefore cannot be responsible for constant individual supervision of all patrons at all times. The responsibility of supervision of children at aquatic facilities still rests with parents and carers.
Professional lifeguard supervision is only effective when supplemented by appropriate levels of ‘personal supervision’. The responsibility of personal supervision lies away from the lifeguard and rests largely with those who enter the centre with them.
Your local pool may be a Watch Around Water centre and if so will have policies regarding entry and supervision requirements for young children. Aquatic facilities displaying the logo below are accredited Watch Around Water centres. When visiting these centres please take note of their policies.
Endorsed Centre
The policies listed below are the minimum requirements for accredited Watch Around Water centres.
- Children under the age of ten (10) years will not be admitted without an appropriate parent/guardian.
- A child under the age of ten (10) years must be constantly accompanied by an ‘responsible adult’ while in the aquatic area of the centre. The parent/guardian must position himself or herself to have a clear view of the child with no physical or structural barriers between them and the child.
- A child under the age of five (5) years must be constantly supervised by an adult. Adequate supervision requires the parent/guardian to accompany the child into the water and remain within arms reach of the child at all times.
- For children ten (10) years and older parents must use their knowledge of the child's swimming ability to determine the level of accompaniment required.
There is some variation between accredited centre's policies owing to differences in centre layout, the presence of wave pools and slides therefore if you visit different facilities ensure you check their policies.
Do not assume that just because they are a Watch Around Water centre that they operate under the above policies.
Please be aware that under the Watch Around Water scheme unsupervised children will be removed from the water and placed in a safe area until collected by the parent/guardian. An unsupervised child of poor swimming ability regardless of age will be removed from the water by a staff member if the staff member is concerned for the safety of the child.
