NLA - What is the purpose of the new award? Expand The new lifesaving award programme enables you to train lifesavers of the future, equipping young people with highly transferable skills across a range of environments. The programme responded to the need to create a smoother pathway from Rookie to lifeguard and will give anyone delivering the awards a unique selling point to attract and retain participants for longer. Importantly, we also wanted to make sure that if you operate a club, that you could develop a unique selling point to hirers and operators. Officially recognising the skill and dedicated training of your lifesavers and how that could continue to support them to employ highly trained lifeguards.
NLA - How was the review of the lifesaving programme managed? Expand It was important that at every step of the review we engaged those that deliver the awards on a weekly basis. We set a Lifesaving Awards Conversation Facebook Group. In addition, since 2018 we have been supported by a Survive & Save Review Working Group. A crack-team of volunteers who have given us honesty and challenged us to create this exciting award. Finally, the awards mean a great deal at the highest level of the organisation, and the RLSS UK Trustee Board have overseen every step of the process.
NLA - How much will the new awards cost? Expand The new awards are priced at a rate that is intended to be affordable for everyone no matter their background. The Bronze Lifesaving Certificate will be £4, the Bronze Star and Bronze Medallion awards will be £10.98 – a 33% decrease on the current Survive & Save Standard Award , and the new exciting Distinction award will be priced at £15.
NLA - Do the new awards have to be pre-purchased? Expand The National Lifesaving Academy certificates and medals will be available to purchase in advance or when a completed assessment has been registered through your RLSS UK account (powered by tahdah). Lifesaving clubs told us that the pre-ordering of the Platinum Jubilee Medallion worked well for them, so we have implemented the same system for the National Lifesaving Academy to enable clubs and commercial operators to hold stocks of awards and present them to candidates the day that they pass.
NLA - When will the Lifesaving Instructor, Tutor, and Mentor awards be reviewed? Expand We intend to review these awards over the winter and transform them into modern teaching awards that will enable instructors to best train the next generation of Lifesavers.
NLA - If there are fewer awards overall, does that mean less content in the new programme? Expand There is more content in the National Lifesaving Academy than Survive & Save. We have incorporated the core, first aid and CPR skills into the awards, and with the introduction of new first aid elements, including AED, and a new section looking at safety procedures around different water site types, there is much more for our Lifesavers to learn.
NLA - What is happening with the Survive & Save awards? Expand Survive & Save will run until the end of August 2023 to enable lifesavers to gain any outstanding awards that they are working towards. After that date, all new courses registered on your RLSS UK Account (powered by tahdah) will need to be National Lifesaving Academy award courses. Of course, clubs wishing to transition to the National Lifesaving Academy awards before the end of next summer are more than welcome to make the jump sooner rather than later!
NLA - Why are all of the awards called Bronze? Expand Bronze is a vital part of our heritage and the heritage of the wider RLSS Commonwealth family. Having lost the heritage of the Bronze Medallion in the S&S programme it was important to trustees, members and the public who talk so fondly of the awards to bring it back with a bang. Launching a suite of bronze awards in the NLA recognises this heritage and puts the focus on the progression from the certificate, through to the star, through to our ultimate shining light – the Medallion.
NLA - What has happened to the sports awards? Expand Feedback suggested that our members involved and engaged in sport, have different needs that don’t fall into a structured awards programme. Their main focus is to have the opportunity and support to build strength, skill and stamina, ultimately to improve their own personal performance and technique. The Sport Action Group are looking forward to launching a set of sports criteria that aims to drive more participation and interest in sport, that sits alongside a developing coaching programme that trains and develops coaches and athletes at the highest level. Sport is an incredible pull and interest for lifesavers and we can’t wait to launch this new programme that can be used as an excellent way to supplement your lifesaving awards.
NLA - What happens to candidates who already have S&S awards, can they convert across? Expand Candidates with previous experience in lifesaving and who can also demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to pass the Bronze Lifesaving Certificate may start at the Bronze Star awards. The Lifesaving Instructor assessing the candidate can choose to award the Bronze Lifesaving Certificate on demonstration of this knowledge and fulfilment of the assessment criteria without the candidate undertaking any further training at this level, or the candidate can move directly to training for the Bronze Star awards. Previous lifesaving experience may include candidates that have completed elements of the Survive & Save programme.
NLA - Will there be any help for lifesaving clubs to purchase the new defibrillator trainers? Expand We’re offering a special discount for lifesaving clubs to buy defibrillator trainers. Every club will have a one-time code to get 45% discount off training AEDs through the RLSS UK Shop. Terms and conditions will apply and more details will be announced following the launch on 10 October 2022.
NLA - How does the Bronze Medallion reduce guided learning hours for lifeguard qualifications? Expand The Bronze Medallion awards can be used as Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) towards the relevant vocational lifeguard qualifications therefore there is a requirement set for minimum guided learning hours. The minimum guided learning hours for each medallion is 18-hours and this will remove 7-hours from the relevant lifeguard qualification. More details are in the NLA Guidance Document.
NLA - Can I be creative about how I complete assessments? Expand We have taken the opportunity to standardise our lifesaving assessments, using the same style of assessment record that we use for our first aid and regulated lifeguard courses. This will ensure that candidates can confidently choose to use their Bronze Medallion awards as Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) towards a vocational lifeguard qualification.We still encourage instructors to be creative, as they always have been, and create scenarios that provide lifesavers with the opportunity to showcase their skills in a fun but informative way
NLA - Why did you review the S&S programme? Expand The review of the senior lifesaving programme started with a member survey in 2017, there was a great deal of honest feedback about the awards at both a strategic and practical level. A few key fundamental changes came through as themes including: removing the core elements; creating a more coherent pathway; reworking the involvement of lifesaving sport, including life support as a consistent thread; making the Bronze Medallion more prominent and enhancing the Distinction award.
NLA - Have a question that hasn't been answered? Expand If once browsing the responses you still have questions, you can submit these below Submit your question
NLA - Will you swap my S&S credits for NLA credits? Expand There was careful deliberation about the timescales to launch the new National Lifesaving Academy (NLA). This to allow candidates engaging in the Survive & Save Awards to finish their journey, some of whom will be considering completing their Distinction Award. There is a 10-month cross over period to finish up your Survive & Save Programme, this allows any current assessments and credits to be used before transitioning to the new programme. A hard cut-off date was not chosen due to the risk of clubs/operators being left with outstanding credits. Once S&S credits are used up, we encourage everybody to transfer to the new NLA to make use of the new content and syllabus. No refunds or credit swaps will be available. Candidates have access to a digital manual so will not be required to purchase a physical copy of the new NLA manual.