As thousands of families head to beaches, rivers and lakes this August, the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) is making its Water Safety Code and Float to Live resources available in multiple languages, giving more families access to potentially life-saving advice before they head to the water.

The launch comes at a particularly important time. Following three near-successive heatwaves this summer, the UK has already recorded at least 35 drowning deaths since May. With August historically the busiest month for accidental drownings, STA is taking its multilingual Water Safety Code and Float to Live resources directly into communities, giving more families access to clear water safety information before they head to the water.

The initiative reflects the UK’s increasingly diverse communities by making water safety advice available in a growing range of languages. Using 2021 Census data to help inform its approach, STA has translated its popular Water Safety Code poster and accompanying Float to Live educational video into Welsh and a selection of the UK’s most widely spoken community languages, including Polish, Romanian, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Urdu, Bengali and Gujarati.

Through translated resources, multilingual videos and community outreach, STA is breaking down linguistic barriers and making potentially life-saving water safety information more accessible to families across the UK.

Each translated Water Safety Code poster links via QR code to a matching-language Float to Live video, combining written and visual guidance to reinforce these essential safety messages.

Alongside the translated posters, STA has also developed an English version featuring a QR code linked to every translated Water Safety Code and Float to Live resource. This enables organisations to display a single English poster while allowing people to instantly access guidance in their preferred language simply by scanning the QR code, which takes them to STA’s Water Safety page.

Dave Candler, CEO of STA, said: “Every summer, families across the UK are affected by the tragedy of accidental drowning. Through education and awareness, we have an opportunity to prevent many of these incidents.

“Simple messages such as stopping to assess the risks, staying together, knowing how to float and calling for help can save lives. We want those messages to reach as many families as possible – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and anyone caring for or spending time with children.

“That’s why our focus is on the Water Safety Code and Float to Live resources. They concentrate on the essential actions people need to remember, making it easier for families to understand the risks, pass these messages on and teach children how to stay safe around water.”

To maximise the initiative’s reach throughout the summer holidays, STA’s network of Brand Ambassadors will be taking the multilingual Water Safety Code posters into public spaces across the UK, including swimming pools, leisure centres, libraries, supermarkets, community centres, family hubs, medical practices and faith organisations.

The initiative supports the ambitions of the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy, which calls for greater collaboration, stronger public awareness and improved access to water safety education to reduce preventable drowning incidents.

At the heart of the initiative is STA’s simple four-step Water Safety Code, giving families clear actions to help keep themselves and others safe around water:

Dave added: “Water safety education shouldn’t stop at the pool door. By taking these resources into communities, we’re making it easier for families to access clear water safety information by scanning the QR codes on our posters before they head to the beach, river or lake.

“Every poster displayed and every QR code scanned is another opportunity to help someone stay safe around water.

“Water doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter what language you speak – the risks are the same for everyone. That’s why it’s so important that these life-saving messages are available in languages more families can understand and share with the children in their care.”

The multilingual Water Safety Code posters which link via a QR code to the translated Float to Live videos are available to download free of charge via the STA website. The videos can also be found via STA’s YouTube Channel.

STA is inviting organisations, community groups, schools, leisure centres, businesses located near the coast and inland waterways, and individuals across the UK to support the initiative by displaying the multilingual Water Safety Code posters, sharing the Float to Live videos and helping these life-saving messages reach more families this summer.

This launch marks another step in STA’s commitment to making water safety education accessible to more communities across the UK. Further languages are planned, informed by community need and developed in collaboration with members of the International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Associations (IFSTA), helping ensure these life-saving messages reach even more people in the years ahead.

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