AUSTSWIM backs Save Our Kids swimming lessons call

The Save Our Kids campaign calling for mandatory swimming lessons for all primary school students in Victoria has been applauded by AUSTSWIM.

The campaign, initiated by Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun in the wake of Victoria's high level of child drownings, would undoubtedly help make children safer in our waterways, according the newly appointed AUSTSWIM Chief Executive Jennifer Schembri-Portelli.

Schembri-Portelli explains "the importance of water safety has come in to renewed focus with the launch of the campaign and AUSTSWIM’s world-first ISO accreditation this month.

“Surprisingly, until now there have been no standards applying to the accreditation of teachers of swimming and water safety, often leaving parents at the mercy of some less-than-desirable learning environments.

“Best practice guidelines exist, but none have the quality and assurance of an international ISO Standard.

“We undertook a rigorous four-year process to attain ISO/IEC 17024, and now parents and carers who want the best water safety instruction for their loved ones have a benchmark to help in their choice of teacher. The services provided by all AUSTSWIM accredited and licenced teachers conform to this international standard.”

Schembri-Portelli (pictured below), who took over the reins at AUSTSWIM on 12th October, said there are 33,000 AUSTSWIM accredited swimming and water safety teachers across Australia.

The not-for-profit organisation is the pre-eminent provider of swimming and water safety teacher training in Australia and has a growing international presence in New Zealand, Asia, India and Dubai.

With 28 years active involvement in the fitness and aquatic industry Schembri-Portelli is a passionate advocate for water safety for people of all ages.

She is a presenter at next week’s World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Malaysia.

For more information on the World Conference on Drowning Prevention click here to view event details in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Top image courtesy of AUSTSWIM.

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