Ongoing Training & Competency Assessment NPLQ 8

1 Ongoing Training & Competency Assessment NPLQ 8 Page 2 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 Third Edition February 2016 IQL UK Limited Acknowledgements Development Alex Blackwell Editorial Advisors Martin Symcox Keith Sach Ian Prosser IQL Programme Board Authors note Throughout the text the masculine includes the feminine (unless the context dictates otherwise) and vice versa. National Pool Lifeguard Qualification is a registered UK trade mark of the Royal Life Saving Society UK. Page 3 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 Royal Life Saving Society UK River House, High Street, Broom, Warwickshire, B50 4HN Tel: +44 (0)1789 773994 Fax: +44 (0)1789 773995 E-mail: Web: For further information about this publication contact: IQL River House, High Street, Broom, Warwickshire, B50 4HN Tel: +44 (0)1789 773994 Fax: +44 (0)1789 773995 E-mail: Web: Page 4 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 Contents Introduction [ p4 - 6 ] A.

2 6 session Ongoing Training and Competency Assessment Plan A1 A2 [p8 - 9 ] Comprehensive scheme of work detailing content for sessions 1-6 that meet the requirements in MHSISP (para 162) that include:- o The lifeguard, swimming pool and supervision o CPR, AED and First Aid o Intervention, Rescue and Emergency Action Plan B. Session Plans - B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 [p10 22] Lesson plan for session s 1-6 giving comprehensive detail on how to deliver content linking with each facility s site specific Normal Operating Procedures and Emergency Action Plan. C. Incident matrix - [p23 - 24] Selection of early and later intervention incidents to be used in sessions 1, 3 and 5. Incidents include the use of the whole team Duty Manager, receptionist and plant engineers etc. Blank form to produce site specific matrix. D. Attendance registers - D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 [p25 30] Register and Competency record for lifeguards attending Ongoing T&C.

3 E. Individual Ongoing Training and Competency Assessment Record [ p31 ] Individual Ongoing T&CA record for each member of staff who carries out lifeguard duties F. Produced automatically by T&CA online database G. Ongoing Training and Competency Assessment Managers Wall Chart [ p32 ] Wall chart for managers displaying Ongoing T&CA records for all staff who carry out lifeguard duties and National Pool Lifeguard Qualification expiry dates and date of induction completed. H. New starter and return to work Competency Assessment [p33] Lifeguard Competency Assessment sheet for any prospective new employee who holds a current NPLQ or for an employee who is returning to work after an absence greater than one month. Page 5 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 INTRODUCTION This Ongoing Training and Competency Assessment (T&CA) document for pool lifeguards is provided as part of IQL s service to Approved Training Centres.

4 The majority of Approved Training Centres are both employers and pool operators. Edition 3 of the OT&CA document has been specifically written to encompass the core syllabus of the 8th Edition of the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) and replaces all previous editions in line with the new lifeguard manual (4th edition 2012). 8TH EDITION NATIONAL POOL LIFEGUARD QUALIFCATION The T&CA can also be used by pool operators as one method to ensure that all existing pool lifeguards are suitably trained and have been updated in the 8th Edition of the NPLQ. Where a centre implements the T&CA for all lifeguards delivering sessions 1-6 (one session per month) in full all lifeguards will be 8th compliant at the completion of the sixth session. Training AND DELIVERY Where a leisure centre has a range of swimming pool types and features it is essential that Training sessions are delivered across the range of pools utilising each pools features to ensure lifeguard Competency is maintained across the range of pools.

5 VERIFICATION OF LIFEGUARD COMPETENCE The T&CA content is designed so trainer assessors can verify competence of each lifeguard by the end of each session relating to the relevant content for each specific month. The trainer assessor signature on the register confirms lifeguards have met the required level of competence by the end of the Training and Competency Assessment and:- The lifeguard has demonstrated the techniques programmed for the month to a level of competence that would enable them to pass the NPLQ The lifeguard has demonstrated their fitness ability to the required level of competence to pass the fitness elements of the NPLQ (timed swims) 2, 4 and 6 Through group questioning and incident Training the lifeguard has demonstrated a level of competence and understanding in the site specific NOP and EAP Page 6 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 LEGAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The employer must comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety as Work Act 1974, in particular section 2 General duties of employers to their employees, section 3 General duties of employers and self-employed to persons other than their employees and section 9 Duty not to charge employees for things done or provided pursuant to certain specific requirements.

6 An employer must also comply with the requirements the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and in particular: Section 13 Capabilities and Training (1) Every employer shall, in entrusting tasks to his employees, take into account their capabilities as regards health and safety. (2) Every employer shall ensure that his employees are provided with adequate health and safety Training - (a) on their being recruited into the employers undertaking; and (b) on their being exposed to new or increased risks because of (i) their being transferred or given a change of responsibilities within the employer s undertaking, (ii) the introduction of new work equipment into or a change respecting work equipment already in use within the employer s undertaking, (iii) the introduction of new technology into the employer s undertaking, or (iv) the introduction of a new system of work into or a change respecting a system of work already in use within the employers undertaking.

7 (3) The Training referred to in paragraph (2) shall- (a) be repeated periodically where appropriate; (b) be adapted to take account of any new or changed risks to the health and safety of the employees concerned; and (c) take place during working hours. Manslaughter All involved in the operation, management and lifeguarding of swimming pools could potentially be subject to criminal charges in the event of an accident. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (the HSWA), all pool owners and managers have general obligations to protect the public. However, it is not just pool owners and managers who are required to look out for the public. Responsibility for health and safety in swimming pools falls upon a wide range of people who have involvement with their management and operation; including local authorities, trusts, management contract companies, senior staff, and employees, such as lifeguards. It is not only individual lifeguards who may face prosecution for manslaughter if there is a death in a pool.

8 All organisations need to consider their potential liabilities as corporations or similar bodies. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (the Act), which came into force throughout the UK in April 2008, will make it easier for organisations to be prosecuted for manslaughter. The new law focuses on the notion of a management failure , shifting the emphasis from a negligent act by a single senior officer or manager, to focus on the adequacy of the organisation s arrangements and practices. Page 7 of 34 IQL Ongoing T&CA Edition 3 Managing Health and Safety in swimming Pools , HSE, 2003 The pool operator should follow the guidance provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in seeking to comply with the law.

9 This guidance is contained in the HSE s publication Managing Health and Safety in swimming Pools (MHSISP). This resource is designed to assist the industry to meet the guidance and endorses the use by pool operators of using RLSS UK Pool Lifeguard Trainer Assessors. Trainer Assessors are called upon by employers to deliver Ongoing T&CA. This document is aimed at establishing and verifying Competency by continual Assessment by the Trainer Assessor throughout, so records focus solely on recording competence. MHSISP covers the importance of record keeping (paragraph 163). This document includes individual Ongoing T&CA records and a quick view manager s wall chart. All those lifeguarding whatever their employment status, full-time, part-time, casual or volunteer, must have the same monthly T&CA provision. This requirement also applies to every employee who undertakes the role of a lifeguard independently of the actual employee job title, Lifeguard, leisure assistant, recreation attendant, duty manager.

10 Of the three key requirements of a lifeguard, that is: Qualification (MHSISP paragraph 161) Competency (MHSISP paragraph 159 & 162) Uniform (MHSISP paragraph 169) This document is intended to cover the second of these, Competency ; the 8th Edition of the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) meets the first requirement, Qualification . During Ongoing T&CA sessions, the objective is for lifeguards to demonstrate competence. No record is required until competence is demonstrated. If there is any lack of competence, further Training should be provided until competence is achieved. If it simply cannot be achieved, the employee should not continue poolside duties until the required competence is demonstrated. The content of this document is driven by MHSISP (paragraph 162). The following assumptions are made with the Ongoing T&CA plan:- Lifeguards are equipped, when responsible for an area of the pool, with a torpedo buoy (or suitable rescue aid) and whistle Ongoing T&CA is arranged in a two hour period with each session delivered in full Facilities are available for one hour dry-side and one hour pool for each T&CA monthly session Ongoing Training and Renewal of the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification It is important to differentiate between the pool operator s responsibility to provide Ongoing Training to ensure employees remain competent and the renewal criteria for the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification.