Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 November 2012
110. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce compulsory life saving training in secondary schools; if he has no such plan, if he will commit to carrying out an impact assessment of the introduction of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50622/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraPupils in primary schools and at Junior Cycle in post primary schools are currently afforded opportunities to participate in water safety training and awareness raising as part of the 'Aquatics' strand of the Physical Education (P.E.) curriculum.
The aquatics strand of the P.E. curriculum at Junior Cycle builds on the progress made at primary level, where there is a clear focus on promoting students' confidence and competence near, in, under and on water. One of the aims of the aquatics strand at Junior Cycle is to further enhance students' confidence and competence in the water and to develop their understanding of basic water safety and life-saving skills. There is also a clear focus on developing students' ability to make decisions having assessed hazards which relate to water activities. The learning outcomes for the aquatics strand of the P.E. syllabus at Junior Cycle include, inter alia, enabling students to perform basic personal survival skills as well as demonstrating a knowledge of elementary principles of land based rescue. As water safety is already an integral component of the aquatics strand of the P.E. curriculum in primary schools and at Junior Cycle, there are no plans at present to introduce compulsory life saving in post primary schools.
