Safeguarding Kit for Swimming and Water Sports

Overview

Swimming and water sports settings present distinctive safeguarding challenges. Children are in states of undress in changing areas, physical contact is inherent in teaching swimming and rescue skills, and the pool or water environment itself poses safety risks. Coaches and instructors hold significant authority, and the culture of these settings must actively promote safeguarding. This kit addresses the unique considerations for aquatic settings.

Key Risks

• •Changing room environments where children are vulnerable and supervision must balance safety with privacy.
• •Physical contact during swimming instruction, rescue practice, or water safety training that could be misused.
• •Adults photographing or filming children in swimwear without appropriate consent and safeguards.
• •One-to-one swimming lessons creating opportunities for inappropriate behaviour.
• •Spectator areas providing access to view children in swimwear, including potential for covert photography.

Policies

• •A safeguarding and child protection policy specific to the aquatic environment, reviewed annually.
• •A changing room supervision policy that addresses mixed-gender changing, adult access, and age-appropriate independence.
• •A photography and filming policy that covers poolside photography, spectator rules, and use of images for promotion.
• •A physical contact policy explaining when and how physical support is necessary during instruction.

Adult Conduct Boundaries

• •Coaches should not enter changing rooms occupied by children unless there is an emergency — same-gender staff should supervise if needed.
• •Physical support during swimming instruction should be explained to the child in advance, kept to the minimum necessary, and carried out in view of other staff.
• •Instructors should never be alone in the water with a single child without another adult present on the poolside.
• •Adults must not use personal phones or cameras in changing areas or poolside during children's sessions.

Communication Boundaries

• •All communication with families should go through official club channels, not personal messaging accounts.
• •Session changes, venue information, and gala arrangements should be communicated to parents, not solely to children.
• •Social media accounts should be official and monitored, with no personal connections between staff and young swimmers.
• •Feedback on a child's progress should be given to parents directly, not through private messages to the child.

Image Guidance

• •Written consent must be obtained from parents before photographing or filming children at any swimming or water sports session.
• •Spectators must be informed of photography rules at the venue — many pools prohibit all photography from spectator areas during children's sessions.
• •Promotional images should focus on the activity rather than individual children and should only show children in appropriate swimwear.

Emergency Escalation

Safeguarding Checklist

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