Free interactive water safety shows offered to ECEC services

A new interactive education show that brings water safety messages to life will be available to early education centres for free through a collaboration between Kids Alive – Do the Five and Ready Set Dance.

The show has been developed featuring song and dance about water safety issues relevant to a range of locations including pools, farms, beaches and at home, Kids Alive Managing Director Emma Lawrence said. 

Dance schools across the country will support the program, offering the Water Safety Show to early education centres in their local communities, sharing important water safety messages with under 5s in a fun and informative way, Ms Lawrence explained.

In 2022, 17 children aged from birth to four years died from drowning, and while this is a 29 per cent decrease on the previous year, the goal is to get this number down to zero. 

The Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2022 revealed that kids aged birth to four years of age drowned in pools (35 per cent), lakes and dams (23 per cent), rivers and creeks (6 per cent), bathtubs and spa baths (12 per cent) and at the beach (6 per cent), with 76 per cent of drownings occurring after children fell into the water.

“Regular formal swimming lessons need to be backed up with year-round water safety education activities,” said Kids Alive Founder Laurie Lawrence.

“Particularly in regional areas, access to information and resources can be scarce so we predict this show will help improve this situation.” 

The Ready Set Dance teachers conduct online training through Kids Alive to learn how to perform the show. Organisations wanting to book a show can visit www.kidsalive.com.au or contact their closest Ready Set Dance studio.