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About Beach Ed
Beach Ed is a theoretical and experiential based programme where students learn about surf and beach safety from experienced Surf Lifeguards. Students receive safety messages and then put them into practice in a managed environment.
The programme is designed specifically for primary and intermediate students and aims to deliver “A safe, fun and educational day at the beach”. It is user friendly and ensures delivery is consistent in style, content and messages.
The programme is structured across four groups, Year 0-2, Year 3-4, Year 5-6 and Year 7-8. This scaffolds learning opportunities and allows schools to attend and receive a different programme every second year.
What is a typical Beach Ed day?
Beach Ed generally starts at around 9.30am and ends at 2.30pm.The programme is a mix of practical and theory sessions with activities including:
- A tour of the Surf Life Saving Club and with lifeguards demonstrating key lifesaving equipment
- Receiving surf safety messages to help stay safe at the beach
- Understanding the role of lifeguards and the jobs they do on the beach
- Learning about the beach environment – waves, rips, holes and currents
- Participating in some fun beach games
- Putting it all into practice in the water with activities such as body boarding, swimming and tube rescues
The emphasis is on learning to be safe while enjoying New Zealand’s favourite playground – the beach!
Beach Ed and the Curriculum Framework
Beach Education provides learning opportunities that allow students to develop essential skills as described in The New Zealand Curriculum Framework. Detailed information on how Beach Education contributes to learning opportunities and achievement objectives can be found in the curriculum document (pdf, 110kb).
Health and Safety
Surf Life Saving New Zealand understands the risks associated with the coast and is committed to providing the best possible health and safety environment for all its activities, including Beach Ed.
Beach Ed operates with comprehensive health and safety practices in place. Up-to-date and relevant risk management procedures ensure a safe physical and emotional environment for all participants. All instructors are highly qualified and experienced Surf Lifeguards.
PHRIMS:
The Priority Rated Hazard Identification System (PRHIM) is a planning, implementation and evaluation tool for safe management of resources, equipment and facilities. Prior to the start of every season, all our facilities are subjected to a thorough PHRIMS assessment to ensure it is a safe venue to run Beach Ed.
RAMS:
Surf Life Saving New Zealand has risk analysis management systems in place for all of the activities on Beach Ed. These are used to identify, assess and manage risks associated with each of these specific activities. Some example RAMS for Beach Ed can be found here (doc, 227kb).
Daily Threat Analysis System:
This is a tool the senior instructor uses on a day to day basis. This allows the RAMS forms to be applied on a day to day basis and makes sure nothing is missed. Click here to see a daily threat analysis system (doc, 120kb).
Supervision System:
This is a system that ensures parent helpers are actively involved in the supervision of students while on BeachEd. It breaks the students into groups of five which allows a parent helper to keep an eye on a smaller number of kids… They don’t have to watch them all of the time and the kids don’t always have to stick together, its just another layer of supervision we use throughout the Beach Ed day. Click here for the supervision template (doc, 127kb).
How to book
Beach Ed is available in Term 4, 2010 and Term 1, 2011.
If you are in the north of the North Island (above Hamilton):
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If you are anywhere else in the country:
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Please make sure you send or have the following information ready:
- School name and key contact person
- The number of students and the age / year group
- Preferred date/s
- Preferred venue (see below)
- Email address and contact phone number
If you have any questions about Beach Ed or the booking process please give us a call to discuss!
Beach Ed Venues
FAQs
What happens if the weather is bad?
Beach Ed runs rain, hail or shine! Although we have a complete wet weather programme, many of the planned activities can continue and we tend to find that you will get wet in the water anyway!
What if I need to cancel my Beach Ed booking?
If you wish to cancel your booking entirely then you must give at least 1 months notice for a refund of your deposit. This will allow us enough time to re-advertise your allocated spot
Is Beach Ed safe?
Yes! BeachEd operates with comprehensive health and safety practices in place. Please see the health and safety documents available on this page
What do we bring to Beach Ed?
The beach is an ever changing environment so you will need to pack for all seasons:
- Swimming Costume / Togs
- Wetsuit (if you have one)
- Towel
- Warm clothes
- Hat
- Sunblock – SPF 30+
- Lunch
- Drink
How many parent helpers do we need?
Parents and teachers are expected to participate in both water and beach activities. The programme requires a minimum of one adult for every five students in the water. It is essential that parents and teachers bring their togs and be prepared to get wet. It is a good idea for parent helpers to bring wet suits if they have them. Most of the time, our water activities are in the afternoon so some parents could arrive after lunch. Click here for a letter to send home to adults who are volunteering to assist (doc, 104kb).
What does the programme cost?
In general, the cost to schools is $7.50 (ex GST). This is heavily subsidised by our national funding partners. In some areas of New Zealand we are able to offer a further subsidy with the assistance from local funding trusts.
How do we pay for Beach Ed?
Surf Life Saving New Zealand will send the school an invoice for a 50% deposit based on the number of students booked in to attend. After you have completed your Beach Ed day we will send an invoice for the rest based on the final attendance numbers. The deposit needs to be paid prior to the Beach Ed day.
Is there a minimum booking number?
Yes. In order to cover our costs we need at least a class size to attend. This is approximately 30 students. If you are from a school with a small roll you may wish to consider joining forces with a neighbouring school. If you wish to bring a smaller group or find this restrictive please give us a call to discuss.
Where do I go / how do I get to the Beach Ed venue?
Please see the venue locations list.
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