Some children are lucky enough to attend swimming lessons, while others are lucky enough to have a school pool. But there are thousands of tamariki who have neither so miss out on learning vital water safety skills.

Aquatic Survival Skills Trust was set up in 2022 to bridge that gap, providing life-saving knowledge and practical skills so children can confidently stay safe in, on and around water.

The trust sends Educators into dozens of Western Bay schools to run a series of five interactive sessions alongside classroom teachers. Students are taught about hypothermia, how to scull in the water, what everyday objects can help keep them afloat, and how to get in and out of water safely, among other important skills.

“We train and upskill our Educators to deliver the programme as part of the school curriculum health programme,” explains Aquatic Survival Skills Trust Manager Alison Wieringa. “Each school is left with a resource kit for their ongoing teaching and class delivery, which extends the learning beyond the time the Aquatic Survival Skills Educators are with the classroom groups.”

Reducing Risk

Last year 90 people drowned in New Zealand and Mount Maunganui is identified in our national statistics as a ‘black spot’. Bay of Plenty has one of the widest range of aquatic environments in the country, with large stretches of coastline and beaches, estuaries, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and pools across our region.

“People swim in their local water spots where no lifeguards are on duty, where conditions change constantly, and no safety equipment is nearby,” Alison says. “The primary school age group has been identified as the most influential age group to target for learning about key survival skills. The children then become influencers around their family, whanau and friends to help make the best decisions around water.”

School Pool Scarcity

The trust currently targets Year 5 and 6 students and last year over 6000 children and 230 teachers took part in the water survival programme. Now the trust wants to help even more schools – particularly those who don’t have a pool of their own.

“Half our primary schools no longer have their own school pool. Bus costs to travel to a community pool and entry costs are an extra charge that many schools and their children are unable to afford.

“We’ve ended up with a big generation of adults now who haven’t had any water safety or water skills in their upbringing. And interestingly enough, a lot of our drownings are in that age group. It all comes back to what we’re taught as kids.”

Funding Future Success

BayTrust has granted $20,000 to the trust – some of which will help pay for transport to get children to and from a local community pool when there is no school pool available on site.

“With the funding from Bay Trust, we can reach a further five schools who could have potentially missed out on the programme, which is amazing for the children and teachers in our community.

“This funding will reduce barriers and support all children to access the aquatic survival skills programme, free of charge. Water safety is a basic survival skill for life that everyone should be entitled to learn.”

Alison says the trust is extremely grateful for BayTrust’s support. The grant will be used to pay for operational costs including Educator wages, resources, school resource kits, administration costs, pool entry fees, as well as transport costs to get school children to and from local community pools.

“We’re delighted. Our whole aim is to reach as many children as possible… so BayTrust have come on at a perfect time to help us support learning opportunities.”

Founder and Chair of the Aquatic Survival Skills Trust, Anne McLeod, says the programme is all about survival. “We want to leave a legacy of water competency that will continue to protect and enrich the lives of our communities and children long into the future. This is more than a programme. It’s a commitment to transforming our community’s relationship with water, making it a source of joy and safety rather than risk.”