Watch Around Water (WAW) is a campaign educating the public about active supervision, and encouraging parents / guardians to take on the responsibility of this role while visiting aquatic facilities.
The campaign aim is to reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents and associated injuries in public aquatic facilities in Victoria within the 0-14 year age group.
Mandatory Policies
1. Children under 10 years:
Must be accompanied into the centre by a responsible parent / guardian
Must be constantly and actively supervised
Parents / guardians must position themselves to have a clear view of the child with no physical
or structural barriers between them and the child / children
2. Children under 5 years:
Must be accompanied into the centre and the water by a responsible parent / guardian
Must stay within arm’s reach during recreational play activities
3. Children 10 years old and over:
Parents must use their knowledge of an individual child’s swimming ability and general development to determine the level of accompaniment required
Recommended Policies
Children under 10 years:
Maximum 1 Parent / Guardian to 4 Children
Children under 5 years:
Maximum 1 Parent / Guardian to 2 Children
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Watch Around Water is a communications campaign. To support the program ‘FAQ’ documents have been developed and are continually updated to ensure a clear and consistent message is sent and that challenges associated with the program can be appropriately managed.
Being an accredited facility means that you are part of a State-wide initiative. The program and industry has the peak body support of both LSV and ARV, including the link to the highly recognisable Play It Safe by the Water campaign (PISBTW).
Evaluation 2013/15:
The 2013/15 (two yearly) evaluation saw LSV trainers and assessors visit over 90% of accredited WAW facilities The objectives of the visits was to review the systems and processes being implemented at a facility level to support the program as well as a review of the communication / marketing materials being used. WAW Evaluation 2013-14.pdf
Evaluation 2012/13:
The 2012/13 evaluation project was aimed at establishing whether or not there had been any change in the awareness / perception of what constitutes appropriate active parental supervision. It was based on surveys and communications with facility staff and management regarding the program implementation. WAW_evaluation_2012-132.pdf
Evaluation 2009/10:
The 2009/10 evaluation project was aimed at establishing the perspectives of parents and facility staff regarding what constituted appropriate levels of supervision and how this could be improved through the program. It was intended to establish whether the proposed program content was appropriate. Watch_Around_Water_Awareness_Evaluation_Summary_2009-10.pdf
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