About this episode

The episode discusses England's approach to water safety education and its implications for Hawaiʻi.

Episode Notes Building Water Competence: What Hawaiʻi Can Learn from England Every child deserves the knowledge and confidence to make safe decisions around water. But what is the best way to teach it? This episode explores England's nationally coordinated approach to water safety education and the lessons it offers for Hawaiʻi. It examines why England developed a National Water Safety Competency Framework and National Water Safety Education Pathway, bringing leading organizations together to deliver consistent, evidence based water safety education from early childhood through secondary school. A central theme is the difference between teaching children to swim and developing true water competence, the knowledge, skills, judgment, and behaviors needed to recognize hazards, assess risk, make informed decisions, and respond safely in and around water. The discussion explores how England is evaluating classroom and lifeguard led education, the importance of reinforcing water safety throughout a child's education, and the challenge of determining whether increased knowledge translates into safer behavior and fewer drownings. The episode also examines emerging challenges, including…

People in this episode

Guest: Sam Johnson

Topics covered

• water safety education
• water competence
• drowning prevention
• climate change
• risk assessment

Keywords

• water safety
• education
• Hawaiʻi
• England
• drowning
• climate change
• risk assessment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hawaiʻi, England, National Water Safety Competency Framework, National Water Safety Education Pathway

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