Schools must consider age, maturity and skill level of students when planning curriculum activities. Ensure participants' current level of confidence and skills in the water have been tested. Consult the sequence of competency found in the
water safety and swimming education program for guidance at each year/band level.
Adjustments are required for
students with disability to support access and participation in the curriculum. Consult with the parents/carers of students with disability or, when appropriate, the student to ensure risks related to their child's participation in the activity are identified and managed.
Schools must consult current student medical information and/or health plans in accordance with the
managing students' health support needs at school procedure. Record information about any student condition (e.g. physical or medical, such as
epilepsy) that may inhibit safe engagement in the activity and include specific support measures within emergency procedures.
For activities with students with a medical condition or disability that may impact on safety during the activity, consultation with parents is required prior to allocating supervision to determine the impact of students' medical condition or disability on safety during the activity.
For participants with known allergies, schools must comply with the
supporting students with asthma and/or at risk of anaphylaxis at school procedure and the school's
anaphylaxis risk management plan (DOCX, 159KB), including an adult supervisor of the activity with
anaphylaxis training.
Emergency plans and injury management procedures must be established for foreseeable incidents (e.g. neck injury) rescue process, provision of CPR and
first aid) and incorporate the advice from local authorities, for example, location of automated external defibrillator (AED), position and location of lifeguard.
Adult supervisors must have:
- emergency contact details of all participants
- a medical alert list and a process for administering student medication
- communication equipment suitable to conditions (e.g. mobile phone) and a process for obtaining external assistance and/or receiving emergency advice.
Safety procedures must be determined for the location (e.g. out-of-bounds areas, location of first aid support and equipment) and incorporate advice from off-site facility, if relevant.
Access is required to
first aid equipment and consumables suitable for foreseeable incidents.
Induction is required for all adult supervisors on emergency procedures (e.g. concussion, rescue process) and safety procedures (e.g. clearing the water) and correct techniques. If the activity is conducted at an off-site facility, induction is to be informed by advice provided in consultation with expertise at the venue.
Instruction is required for students and adult supervisors on correct techniques (e.g. preparing to dive, water entry) to ensure preliminary water safety knowledge and learning prior to entering the water. Rule-reminders are to be provided throughout the activity.
Parent consent (DOCX, 309KB) is required for all activities conducted
off-site and all
extreme risk level activities conducted onsite. It is
strongly recommended that parent consent is obtained for
high risk level activities conducted on-site.
Supervision
Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults, make final supervision decisions for the activity that considers the local context.
Appropriate adult supervision must be provided to manage the activity safely (i.e. prevent an incident from occurring and manage an incident if one were to occur, including managing emergency situations). At no time should students be relied upon to recover a person in difficulty. The principal must give active consideration to the minimum standards set in the CARA guideline for the activity, the CARA planner and the risk assessment when determining the appropriate level of supervision.
See
number of adult supervisors below.
Prepare a supervision plan to prevent drowning that considers the advice provided in this CARA guideline. Consider
Royal Life Saving Society Queensland's (RLSSQ) guidelines for safe pool operations for support when supervision planning.
Participants must adhere to all rules and advice communicated by the local lifeguard service, facility operator/owner and any safety signage at the facility/location.
Before the activity, all adult supervisors:
- must be familiar with the contents of the CARA record, including the emergency and supervision plans.
During the activity, all adult supervisors:
- must provide active and direct supervision—be constantly vigilant, attentive and rescue ready
- must ensure all students in the water are in sight of at least 1 adult supervisor at all times
- must closely monitor all dive entries
- must comply with control measures from the CARA record and adapt as hazards arise
- must
not rely on students to recover a person in difficulty at any time.
The activity must be suspended if the conditions become unfavourable (e.g. poor visibility, extreme temperatures, thunderstorms).
Number of adult supervisors
Principals, in consultation with the qualified adults of the activity, determine the final number of supervisors to fulfil instructional, emergency and supervision roles for the local context that consider
RLSSQ's guidelines for safe pool operations, the nature of the activity, students' ages, abilities and specialised learning, access and/or health needs. In some instances, the final supervision ratio may be 1:1.
To support decisions about the number of qualified adults required for the activity, confirmation of student water safety and swimming ability is required prior to participation. The process is determined by the school and must consider the specific aquatic environments in which the activity will take place. Consult the sequence of competency
water safety and swimming education program for support in determining age-appropriate suitability and consider student self-rescue skills in the specific aquatic environment.
If the minimum safety standard cannot be met, modify the activity (or elements of it) and use the
hierarchy of controls to implement alternative control measures to meet or exceed the minimum safety standard (e.g. reduce the number of students participating at any one time).
See
FAQs for further support.
Supervisor qualifications
Qualifications support the minimum safety standard for this activity. Principals make final decisions* in determining supervisor capability (competence, relevance and currency) and whether the activity leader meets an appropriate teaching standard. Support for decision-making is provided by industry standards (e.g.
RLSQ’s guidelines for safe pool operations).
*See
frequently asked questions (FAQs) for further support.
All adult supervisors must comply with the
working with children authority—blue cards procedure.
Qualified adults for the activity
Recovery/emergency—CPR, first aid, rescue
Adults at the venue, including registered teachers, engaged for recovery/emergency are to have
current knowledge, judgement, technique and physical ability to carry out safe water rescues and enact an emergency procedure.
Supervisors must have CPR and first aid qualifications relevant to the activity. Emergency qualifications may include:
An adult with concussion management knowledge or training is required. Consult
concussion in sport resources.
Swimming teacher qualification
At least 1 adult supervisor has swimming teacher qualification.
Supervisors, including registered teachers, engaged to provide water safety and swimming education lessons are to have, or be enrolled in and working towards, a swimming teacher qualification that demonstrates the following units of competency:
Contact registered training organisations (e.g.
RLSSQ,
AUSTSWIM,
SWIM Coaches and Teachers Australia) for enrolment assistance.
High risk activities—for diving board heights of 1m or lower
At least 1 adult supervisor is either:
- a registered teacher with qualifications in HPE (or equivalent demonstrated capability) and with competence (knowledge and skills) in teaching the diving style
- an adult supervisor, working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with current accreditation as a
FUNdamentals coach with Diving Australia.
High risk activities—for diving board heights more than 1m and up to 5m
At least 1 adult supervisor is:
- a registered teacher, or other adult supervisor working under the direct supervision of a registered teacher, with current accreditation as a
Level 1 coach with Diving Australia.
See
FAQs for further support.
Facilities and equipment
The qualified adult supervisor of the activity, in consultation with the principal, determines the requirements for facilities and equipment appropriate to the local context.
A working emergency signal (e.g. whistle, air horn) must be readily available.
Common hazards and controls
Further to those listed, include any additional hazards and control measures considering the local context of the activity.
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Biological hazards
Body fluids (e.g. blood, bowel motions)
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Manage open wounds before, during and after the activity. Consult
infection control guidelines and Queensland Health's
exclusion periods for infectious conditions poster (PDF, 1.5MB) for first aid and hygienic practices.
Use the
water quality guidelines for public aquatic facilities to respond to an incident involving biological hazards in the water
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Environmental conditions
Weather, sun, humidity
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Assess
weather conditions prior to undertaking the activity, inspecting the intended location in order to identify variable risks, hazards and potential dangers.
Follow the
school's sun safety policy, including appropriate swimwear (e.g. swim shirts), sun protection (e.g. sunscreen) and shade facilities when outside.
Follow the
managing excessive heat in schools guidelines when participating in very hot or extreme heat conditions.
Follow
Swimming Queensland's lightning protection policy (PDF, 344KB) when thunderstorms threaten
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Water temperature |
Swimming Australia's facilities rules FR 2.11 (PDF, 1.3MB) requires the water temperature to be 25–28 degrees Celsius. Manage cooler water temperatures with additional control measures (e.g. shorter in-water time, wetsuits, etc.). Note: sudden temperature changes may trigger
seizures |
| Facilities and equipment hazards |
Control measures |
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Activity location |
Location must be suitable for the activity being undertaken to ensure safe participation and that safety rules and procedures can be followed. Undertake a reconnaissance of new or infrequently used venues to ascertain suitability.
Consult the minimum standards in the
FINA facilities rules.
Venue with appropriate toilet and change facilities, accessible to students with disability as required. Consult the
health and safety checklist—swimming pools for guidance in identifying hazards.
Check facility for adequate lighting
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Electricity
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If power is required on the pool deck:
- use portable safety switches, where there are no residual current devices installed
- do not use extension leads, electrical equipment and cords
- use battery powered or non-powered equipment
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Entry/exit points
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Establish appropriate entry and exit points
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Equipment
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Monitor the correct use of the springboard fulcrum before diving. Adjustments must be made using the foot wheel
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Control measures |
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Deep water
Risk of drowning, submersion
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Closely monitor students in deep water
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Distraction
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Allow only 1 person on the springboard at a time. Prevent visual or noise distractions when dives are being attempted. Ensure no-one moves across the diver's line of vision |
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Swimming attire
Visibility, fabrics
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All supervisors are to be readily identifiable and be appropriately dressed to perform an immediate rescue at all times.
Students wear fit-for-purpose swimming attire that is highly visible in water and does not cause a hazard (i.e. not too loose or heavy).
Each student must provide their own towel.
Students wear swimming caps if hair poses a hazard—consider type material as a drowning/suffocation risk.
Do not allow students to misuse swimming caps or equipment (e.g. do not pull swimming caps over faces, do not use rescue ropes for any purpose other than rescue or simulation).
Remove accessories (e.g. jewellery, lanyards) before participating
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Hyperventilation
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Encourage participants to take a full/deep breath before submerging and ensure exhalation whilst underwater. Closely monitor students for involuntary multiple, shallow breaths.
Do not allow competitive breath-holding or 'no-breath' underwater games. Consult the
FAQs for further information
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Injury
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Students aware of the location of emergency and first-aid equipment.
Manage injuries according to established procedures. If in doubt, do not allow students to return to the activity after injury until medically cleared
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Physical exertion
Exhaustion, heat/cold stress
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Conduct
warm-up/cool-down activities.
Provide activities appropriate to diving confidence and competence.
Continually monitor students for signs of distress (e.g. fatigue, hypothermia and hyperventilation).
Ensure drink breaks occur regularly. Make water available for individual participants between drink breaks
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Slip, trip, fall |
Place mats on the floor around change room / bathroom entryway |
Student issues
Student numbers, special needs, high risk behaviours, medical conditions, separation from the group |
Restrict underwater swimming to short-duration activities under close supervision.
Monitor shared facilities (e.g. change rooms, public access areas).
Ensure all students in the water are in sight of at least 1 qualified adult supervisor at all times.
Closely monitor students with health support needs.
Implement procedures (e.g. buddy system, roll marking mechanisms) to account for all participants before, during and after the activity.
Limit the number of students in the water when close supervision is required
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Water entry |
Clear the water entry area before each dive and Instruct divers to swim directly back to pool side under the board after diving. Do not allow students to wait in the water entry area. Continually monitor under the diving board |
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