Access to funding is essential to enable the safe and successful delivery of school swimming and water safety education. There are currently two funding streams in place to support the delivery of these important activities.

• Swimming in schools - A Victorian Government initiative that provides funding for schools to fulfil swimming and water safety requirements of Health and Physical Education in the Victorian Curriculum.
• Sporting schools - An Australian Government initiative designed to support primary and secondary schools increase student participation in sport and community sporting activities.

These funding options can help schools achieve Victorian Curriculum requirements while ensuring all students can develop essential water safety skills.

LSV proudly partners the Victorian Government through the Water Safety in Schools initiative. This program enables the continual development of industry leading tools and resources and support activities for the education sector and aquatic industry. These efforts aim to enhance water safety education across Victorian schools.

This multifaceted approach to supporting school swimming and water safety includes:

• The development of industry leading tools and resources for Teachers
• The delivery of professional development and education activities to Teachers
• The enhancement of student facing physical and online resources
• The execution of engagement activities to the education sector and aquatic industry
• The provision of training and support activities to create new Swim Teachers
• The direct delivery of education programs to students at the beach, river or lake

LSV’s School Swimming and Water Safety Toolkit contains a wide range of free curriculum-aligned swimming and water safety resources, developed specifically for use by Victorian schools and the aquatic industry.

Included in the Toolkit are lesson plans, funding information, program idea/outlines and our fun online game Swim City. All resources are intended to empower school and learn-to-swim staff to support students to develop essential swimming and water safety skills. Explore the School Swimming and Water Safety Toolkit today! 

The Victorian Water Safety Certificate is a Victorian Government initiative to assess specific competencies that students are expected to achieve by the time they reach the end of primary school.

The Certificate focuses on key water safety components including knowledge, rescue skills, and in-water survival sequence and the ability to swim a continuous distance of 50 metres.

The Certificate is designed to supplement existing swimming and water safety programs delivered by schools and learn-to-swim providers.

To help schools and swim schools implement the VWSC, LSV offers a range of teaching resources, including:

• Step-by-step instructional videos
• Parent information packs
• A dedicated portal for schools and swim schools