12/06/2025

New figures show that 249 people accidentally drowned in the UK and Ireland in 2024, with more than 1,600 lives lost in the last five years[i].

Following the release of new data from the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) and Water Safety Ireland, national charity, the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), is urging people to stay vigilant when in, on or around water this summer. 

With 141 children known to have drowned from England, Scotland and Wales in the last three years alone[ii], ensuring your family knows what to do in an emergency is vital. RLSS UK is urging everyone to learn the Water Safety Code through its video animation, during its annual Drowning Prevention Week campaign, from 14 to 21 June 2025. 

Targeted at young children and families, the national water safety education campaign aims to ensure as many people as possible are equipped with vital lifesaving knowledge to allow them to enjoy water safely this summer.  

Matt Croxall, Interim Charity Director, said: “Drowning is preventable. As a charity, we believe in the importance of everyone having the opportunity to learn key lifesaving knowledge, including the Water Safety Code, to keep them and their families safe and able to enjoy the water safely.

“We are deeply saddened at every life lost to drowning. We will continue to campaign and advocate for all children to have access to high-quality class-based water safety education, whatever their background.”

RLSS UK has been a long-term advocate for class-based water safety education across schools in the UK and Ireland. Research has shown this type of learning is proven to increase water safety awareness and water confidence in the long-term, providing a ‘lesson for life’[iii].

Professor Mike Tipton, Chair of the NWSF, added: "Drowning claims many lives each year, often of young people. Education and knowledge underpin drowning prevention which is why events like the RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week are so important and the ‘lessons for life’ it will provide are crucial.” 

In 2024, the campaign saw the charity’s free resources used to educate an estimated 1.25 million children. As part of its ambition to grow this number further, RLSS UK has just launched brand-new materials for children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The charity will be hosting an event with MPs and partners next Tuesday (17 June) at Westminster, to draw attention to the urgent need for class-based water safety education and seek support for its formal inclusion in the National Curriculum’s RHSE guidance for England. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water Safety Education, of which RLSS UK is the Secretariat, will also be hosted on the same day.