Swim & Survive

Swim & Survive Overview

The Royal Life Saving Swim & Survive program is a broad and balanced program teaching a range of skills and knowledge to develop swimming, water safety, survival and basic rescue skills. The program seeks to increase the swimming and water safety skills of all Australian children in order to prepare them for safe participation in aquatic activity and prevent drowning.

Learn to swim, swimming lessons and aquatic education are all terms commonly used across the aquatic industry for programs that seek to build swimming skills. Swim & Survive is all of these, but most importantly it ensures that the essential components of personal survival and water safety are provided in addition to a process of developing strong and effective swimming technique.

The Swim & Survive program identifies 12 critical stages in a child’s development. The lower stages focus on teaching efficient support and movement in the water while the higher stages include skill and knowledge in safety, survival and rescue.

Development Strands

Swim & Survive is a swimming and water safety program that is aligned to the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and develops skills across the following areas:

• Entries and exits skills teach children to determine the safest entry and exit method for a range of aquatic environments.
• Sculling and body orientation enable children to gain mobility in the aquatic environment and are vital skills for developing swimming and survival skills.
• Movement and swimming strokes develops efficient and effective stroke technique and the ability to adapt the strokes to suit the conditions of the environment. Fitness and endurance increases through the progression of levels.
• Survival and PFD skills includes the teaching of survival techniques and strategies for a range of emergency situations, including the use of personal flotation devices.
• Rescue skills equip children with the required skills to perform a range of rescues depending on the emergency situation, the environment and prevailing conditions.
• Water safety knowledge develops an understanding of a range of swimming and water safety issues that underpins safety in and around the water.

• Levels
• Indigenous Communites
• Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Groups
• Water Safety