Message from the Chair
We are in a period of unprecedented activity, with the National Water Safety Forum and four devolved nations all producing the next iterations of their drowning prevention strategies. These documents are critical for setting, prioritising and focussing the direction of our drowning prevention work going forward. They will determine what we do and when, enabling us to reduce the 8,000 years of life lost each year in the UK to accidental drowning.
We are also in the process of reviewing how the Water Incident Database (WAID) functions, as well as working on important projects to do with advocacy, local authorities, water safety partnerships and water safety signage. This work would not be possible without the unflinching support of NSWF members and the secretariat support of the RoSPA team. I thank them all for their amazing ongoing efforts.
Professor Mike Tipton
Chair of the National Water Safety Forum and Water Safety England
Phone Float Throw: new Respect The Water bystander rescue campaign
Over the past year, the National Water Safety Forum has partnered with Claremont Communications to carry out a review of our existing bystander rescue instructions (Call, Tell, Throw), analysing their effectiveness through data analysis, public focus groups and stakeholder workshops.
This process found that both the clarity and memorability of Call, Tell, Throw was limited, both among stakeholders and the public. “Phone Float Throw” emerged from the review as a clearer, more instinctive and more widely understood set of instructions that emphasised the same lifesaving behaviours:
Phone 999 to get help
Tell them to stay calm and float on their back
Throw rescue equipment to help them float until the emergency services arrive
Launching on April 8, 2026, the new Phone Float Thow campaign from Respect The Water aims to embed these instructions into public-facing water safety messaging, empowering the public to take positive action if they see someone in trouble in the water. Through simple, impactful imagery, the campaign uses the universally recognised symbol of a life ring to immediately associate Phone Float Throw with water-based rescue in the mind of the viewer.
A campaign toolkit – including static and animated social media assets, posters and a detail campaign guidance document – has been created to help NWSF members and partners to support the campaign. To download resources, visit the Respect The Water website.
Support the Phone Float Throw campaign
Deadline approaching to submit an abstract National Water Safety Conference 2026
The deadline to submit an abstract for the National Water Safety Forum 2026 is Tuesday, 31 March, 2026.
Submit your conference abstract
The conference will take place on 7 October, 2026, in Birmingham, and will provide a vital platform for water safety leaders, practitioners, educators and academics to share knowledge, and shape the future of drowning prevention in the UK.
We are inviting abstracts on the following topics:
- Evidence and data – research, analysis, and evaluation methods in water safety
- Education – innovative approaches to increasing knowledge, skills and experience in water safety, swimming and water competency
- Communication – campaigns, messaging, and public engagement strategies
- Policy – approaches to collaboration between government, landowner and other responsible parties as well as management of risks in and around water.
Before submitting your abstract, please take time to read the submission guidance.
World Drowning Prevention Day 2026: Support the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy launch and Find Your Float campaign
Established by the World Health Organization, World Drowning Prevention Day is a global advocacy event that runs every year on 25 July.
World Drowning Prevention Day 2026 marks a particularly significant one for the National Water Safety Forum as we will be launching the new UK Drowning Prevention Strategy, as well as four new national drowning prevention strategies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will be launching the UK and four national strategies via a coordinated media day on 24 July, 2026. Members and partners can support by amplifying the launch across their channels and networks. A toolkit to support this activity will be provided closer to the time.
We will also be asking members and partners to put the principles of the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy into action by supporting the Find Your Float campaign for a second year. The purpose of this campaign is to encourage as many people as possible to learn and/or practise the essential lifesaving skill of floating, better preparing them for a water-based emergency.
You can get involved with the Find Your Float campaign by:
- Hosting a Find Your Float event
- Building a float tutorial or demonstration into existing events or activities
- Creating a “how to float” video
- Sharing the campaign messages on your channels and with your networks
Activity should take place between 20 and 25 July, 2026. We have created a campaign toolkit of social media assets, posters and guidance documents to assist you in planning Find Your Float activity. Key campaign assets are available to download on the Respect The Water website and a full campaign toolkit will be made available shortly.
For more information on how to support both the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy launch and the Find Your Float campaign – including how to adapt the campaign to your particular organisation - please see the recording from our World Drowning Prevention Day webinar from earlier this month.
If you have any questions about the launch of the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy of Find Your Float campaign, or need support with how to get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: info@nationalwatersafety.org.uk.
Campaigns
Reduce the Risk, Boost Your Skills
HM Coastguard, the RNLI and the Royal Yachting Association have launched their 2026 water safety campaign aimed at recreational boaters.
This multi-channel campaign encourages both new and experienced boaters to “reduce the risk, boost your skills” by preparing themselves, their crew and their vessel before the start of the season. It aims to promote key safety behaviours, reduce the number of boating incidents, and prevent non-serious incidents from escalating.
Handy tips and guidance are included in the campaign’s safety checklists, which are provided free of charge across the UK, including a version available in Welsh. The laminated booklet includes simple advice, such as discussing passage plans and man overboard procedures, checking equipment and engine, identifying a second-in-command, and ensuring an effective means of calling for help is kept onboard.
To order or download copies of the checklists, posters and other campaign resources the HM Coastguard website.
Be Water Aware
The National Fire Chiefs Council’s Be Water Aware campaign will be returning this spring, running from 27 April to 3 May, 2026.
The week‑long initiative focuses on raising awareness of the dangers around open water and aims to help prevent accidental drownings by sharing practical safety advice with communities. As the warmer months approach, NFCC encourages everyone to enjoy time in, on, and around water responsibly, highlighting key messages such as understanding cold‑water shock, recognising everyday risks, and knowing what to do in an emergency.
The resources for 2026 will be available for fire and rescue services and partners at the end of March via the NFCC website
Save the date: RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week to take place from 13 to 20 June
National Water Safety Forum members play an important role in sharing water safety messaging and being involved in campaign activities during Drowning Prevention Week.
This year, RLSS UK want even more people to get involved, whether that’s by promoting the campaign, hosting activities, or helping to shape new resources.
Planning has already begun for the 2026 campaign – if you have any ideas or thoughts for possible collaborations, please contact marketing@rlss.org.uk.
Updates from the devolved nations
Water Safety England
From national to local – a model for England’s Water Safety Partnerships
Water Safety England are currently exploring whether a more structured framework could help strengthen coordination across water safety activity in England.
One option under consideration is a model where information, guidance and support flow from Water Safety England at the national level, through regional groups, and then into local areas. This approach could offer a more manageable and consistent way of organising our collective work. However, the potential challenges are also recognised, particularly for regions where formal groups are not yet in place, which could create additional demands or capacity pressures.
Working through the Education, Technical and Engagement Group – alongside partners including RoSPA, RNLI, the LGA Coastal SIG, and the NFCC – we aim to gather feedback over the coming months and expect to share results and a short report post summer.
Local authority approaches to water safety in England
Following a snapshot survey in 2021, RoSPA and Water Safety England have successfully completed research providing the first full insights into the current management of water safety in England.
A sample of Local authorities were surveyed to understand how they plan for and deliver drowning prevention work, focusing on responsibility for water safety and existing water safety policies. The completed research shows that around half of respondents (49 per cent) have a designated person or department for water safety. However, only 27 per cent of local authorities currently have a water safety policy in place, similar to previous findings, though it is encouraging that a further 9 per cent are in the process of developing one.
The full report can be accessed on the RoSPA website.
Water Safety Scotland
Examining water safety awareness and views in men over 50
Water Safety Scotland, through the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), hosted an online focus group in February, 2026, for men over the age of 50 who reside in Scotland. This focus group was held to help understand the water safety messaging preferences of those within this demographic, as according to Drowning and Incident Review (DIR) data, they are a high frequency group for accidental drowning fatalities.
The participants were asked general questions regarding their experiences and interactions with water bodies across Scotland. The discussion then progressed into specifics regarding their thoughts and opinions on water safety communications and messaging. A report on this focus group will be released shortly, outlining the insights gained.
Water Safety Wales
Wales Drowning Prevention Strategy
Over recent months, the draft Wales Drowning Prevention Strategy has been shaped through consultation with Water Safety Wales members, the Families Group, and a range of expert stakeholders. We are very grateful to everyone who has contributed their time, expertise and constructive comments throughout this process. Your input has helped strengthen the document and ensure it reflects a broad range of perspectives from across Wales.
We are also pleased to confirm that the draft strategy has now completed its public consultation phase. The consultation invited individuals, organisations and communities across Wales to comment on the draft strategy and help shape the final version, and it closed on 11 March, 2026. Water Safety Wales would like to thank everyone who responded, and especially those who helped to promote the consultation more widely through their networks and social media channels. We were delighted to have received 93 responses, reflecting the strength of interest and support for drowning prevention across Wales.
The next stage will be to review the consultation feedback in full, consider any further amendments required, and prepare the final document for publication. Subject to completion of this final review process, the strategy is intended to be published on World Drowning Prevention Day on 25 July.
Partner updates
Swim England: “Future of Facilities” report to be published in March
The APPG for Swimming is publishing a report into the Future of Facilities on 25 March, 2026. The enquiry examines the current state of public swimming pool provisions across England, and the main challenges facing pool owners and operators in maintaining facilities. It also promotes the importance of facilities, identifying why pools are important for the community and what the potential implications are for losing access to swimming facilities.
The report will be launched at an online event hosted by Chair of the APPG for Swimming, Jonathan Brash MP. Colleagues are welcome to join online – please contact sian.sedgwick@swimming.org if you would like to attend.
Research updates
Behind the Canal & River Trust’s “Quack Quack, Take Two Steps Back”
An article has been published in the Design Journal about the making of the Canal & River Trust’s water safety picture book for two to six-year-olds.
The Canal & River Trust worked with Muddy Publishing on a humanity-centred approach to creating and producing the book, designing it with the intended audience, not just for the intended audience. The article looks at how a picture book is a good way to reach the dual audience of young children and caregivers with a safety message in a way that can be repeated and practised.
The physiology of survival - breath-hold shallow-water diving
A new paper on the physiology and risks of breath-hold shallow water diving was published in Experimental Physiology in December 2025. The paper is co-authored by Andrew H. Baker (Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Edinburgh), Ashley Jones (Swim England), Adrian Mayhew (Surf Life Saving GB), Carlene McAvoy (RoSPA and the National Water Safety Forum), Ross Macleod (RNLI), Hugh Montgomery (Centre for Human Health and Performance, University College London), Craig Robertson (Swim England and Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University), Jo Talbot (RLSS UK), Mike Tipton (Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, and Chair of the National Water Safety Forum).