The Ripple Campaign

Young leaders. Shared knowledge. Safer communities.

10 training hubs. One winter. Across the UK.

The Ripple Campaign is Above Water’s mission to bring free Young Leader water safety and drowning prevention training to communities across the UK.

The idea is simple: train young people to share essential knowledge with others. Each young leader starts a ripple that reaches their classmates, school, family and wider community.

We want children to have the understanding and confidence to enjoy our seas, rivers, lakes and other blue spaces safely.

What is Young Leader water safety training?

Our training equips young people with water safety knowledge and the confidence and teaching skills to pass it on to other pupils.

Through engaging learning and practical activities, young leaders develop their understanding of recognising hazards, making safer decisions around water and knowing how to respond if something goes wrong.

The programme covers essential messages such as floating on your back and Above Water’s Blue Cross Code: STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, FLOAT.

Young leaders then take these messages back into their schools, helping water safety knowledge spread far beyond the original training session.

Learning that goes further

The programme supports schools in delivering the water safety elements of the National Curriculum, extending learning through greater understanding, awareness and practical training.

Our aim is to help young people apply their knowledge to the environments they encounter, understand why conditions change and make informed decisions around water.

Young leaders also develop communication, leadership and presentation skills as they learn to teach others.

First stop: Torquay

Our first training hub will be hosted at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, bringing together young leaders from schools across South Devon.

Schools in the area will soon receive an email invitation with details of the free training and how to take part.

Are you a teacher, governor or parent at a South Devon school? Please contact us with your name, email address and school name. This will help us organise invitations more quickly and make sure your school doesn’t miss out.

email- brendon@thelongpaddle.co.uk

Where should the next ripple begin?

We want your help choosing locations for the remaining training hubs across the UK.

Is there an area that would benefit from this training? Could your school bring neighbouring schools together? Do you know a suitable venue or an organisation that could help us reach young people locally?

You can suggest a location as an individual, school or community organisation. Please tell us:

• The town or area you are suggesting.

• Why you think the training would make a difference there.

• Any schools, venues or local contacts that could help.

• Your name and email address.

Suggesting a location helps us plan. Locations and dates will be confirmed as funding and arrangements allow.

email- brendon@thelongpaddle.co.uk

Help us reach all 10 hubs

We currently have enough funding for three training hubs. Our goal is to raise £5,000 to enable us to deliver the full programme of 10 hubs across the UK.

Your donation will help us bring training to more locations while keeping it free for participating schools.

Every contribution helps start another ripple, giving more young people the knowledge and confidence to share essential water safety messages.

You can donate directly through this website, or support the fundraising appeal on our charity founder Brendon Prince’s JustGiving page, which is also raising money towards this campaign.

Donate through Brendon’s JustGiving page

Whether you donate, suggest a location, introduce a school or share the campaign, you can help water safety knowledge reach further.

Start a ripple. Help make an island nation water safe.

email- brendon@thelongpaddle.co.uk