The Ripple Effect – a free water safety incursion for secondary school students

17 June 2026

Introducing The Ripple Effect – Smart choices around water, a new and free water safety program targeting secondary school students in Years 7-8 and 9-10 delivered by Life Saving Victoria (LSV) and fully funded by the Victorian Department of Education through the Strategic Partnerships Program (SPP) in response to growing needs in secondary school water safety education.

According to a report published by Royal Life Saving Australia in 2025, teachers estimate that 84% of 15-16-year-olds are unable to meet recognised water safety benchmarks. The 2024-25 Victorian Drowning Report has also revealed that drowning rates among 15-24-year-olds are at a 10-year high. To support closing the critical education gap for this age group, the Ripple Effect is focused on building student capability in water safety, emergency response and resisting peer pressure in high-risk situations.

The delivery of this program will consist of a 1 x 1 hour in-person incursion at your school, taught by LSV educators using engaging, practical and scenario-based learning supported by custom digital resources.

The workshop content has been mapped to the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 descriptions for Year 8 (VC2HP8P08; VC2CC8R01; VC2CP8O05) and Year 10 (VC2HP10P08; VC2CC10R01; VC2CP10O05).

What students will learn:

Make safer decisions around water by analysing realistic scenarios and choosing protective strategies (Victorian Curriculum 2.0: Health & Physical Education; plus Critical and Creative Thinking).

Respond to emergencies: recognise risk, know what to do first, and practise help-seeking and bystander actions that keep students and others safer (HPE; Personal and Social Capability).

Resist peer pressure in high-risk situations by rehearsing communication and refusal strategies, and identifying supportive help options (HPE; Personal and Social Capability).

The Ripple Effect is available for bookings in Terms 2 and 3 across 2026-27, with the option to run multiple sessions in a day for different classes, subject to availability. This unique and exciting new program is the first of its kind in Victoria, and is designed to be accessible to all secondary schools.

Click here to book a free program, and contact the Education Team at education@lv.com.au or (03) 96766940 if you have any questions.