What is Drowning Prevention Week?

Drowning Prevention Week is RLSS's biggest campaign of the year, targeting families, carers, teachers and instructors of children aged five to fifteen years old with the aim of educating them about water safety and helping to prevent accidental drowning. DPW's mission is to help everybody across the UK and Ireland enjoy water safely.

No child should drown, and with the right water safety education, such as knowledge of the Water Safety Code, accidental drownings are preventable. Drowning Prevention Week is deliberately timed ahead of the school summer holidays, when children spend more time outdoors and when vital water safety skills can help keep children safe.

Please help us to spread the word this year and encourage everyone to have water safety conversations with children. DPW is critical in raising awareness and encouraging the public to enjoy water safely.

With the skills and knowledge to make the right decisions about water safety, and make memories that will last a lifetime, for all the right reasons.

The DPW campaign, created by the Royal Life Saving Society UK, encourages parents, schools, leisure centres, and communities to use its free water safety resources to teach children how to enjoy a lifetime of fun in the water.

Now in its 13th year, DPW 2026 is a crucial campaign as there is still a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education.

In communities where participation in swimming and water safety activities is already traditionally low, this worrying gap in knowledge and skills is even bigger.

The Royal Life Saving Society UK believes that through free, accessible education and training, everyone can enjoy water safely.