04/07/2025

Ladies-only swimming sessions are on the rise – especially in urban areas. For many reasons, leisure operators schedule women-only pool times (e.g. cultural, religious or body confidence reasons), and they aim to provide a safe, private, and comfortable environment for all women. 

To ensure a safe ladies-only swimming environment, female lifeguards are employed to ensure swimmers can enjoy water safely and provide lifesaving measures if needed. So how do leisure centres ensure they have enough female lifeguards and that all women can become a lifeguard if they want to? They run female-only lifeguard courses! 

Tower Hamlets Council insourced its leisure services in May 2024 when their contract with GLL Better ended – the service now operates under the brand Be Well, running six leisure centres across East London. Throughout the year they offer female-only lifeguard courses regularly to help train and employ female lifeguards to monitor their ladies-only swimming sessions.  

A female RLSS UK Trainer Assessor delivers these female-only NPLQ courses when poolside course content is covered, and the candidates are assessed, a female lifeguard is present, and the pool is exclusively used for the course. This helps the female NPLQ candidates feel comfortable and supported with any issues that may arise.  

Seann O’Reilly, the Leisure Commercial Manager at Tower Hamlets Council, said, “We’re proud to provide leisure facilities for the residents of Tower Hamlets. Our goal is to help everyone learn to swim, enjoy our sessions, and feel safe and welcome – regardless of gender, age, race, culture, or religion. 

By insourcing our leisure services, we have created opportunities for local residents to build skills, gain experience, support their community, and grow water confidence through our free-swimming programme – available to all women and girls aged 16 and over across the borough.” 

Jo Talbot, RLSS UK’s Commercial Director, added, “The leisure industry is ever evolving. Female-only lifeguard courses and ladies-only swimming sessions are yet another evolution that the industry has adopted to ensure that everyone has access to and can enjoy water safely.” 

To find a female-only NPLQ course near you, visit RLSS UK Course Finder or speak to your local leisure centre for more information. 

Learn about the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification 

Find an NPLQ course near you