RoSPA National Water Safety Conference 2025:

Held on Wednesday March 12, 2025 | 09:00 - 15:30 | Crowne Plaza, Birmingham

Reconnecting, celebrating excellence and shaping the future of water safety

The 2025 National Water Safety Conference brought together water safety practitioners, advocates, academics and educators from across the country to share knowledge, connect with one another, and shape the future of drowning prevention in the UK.

The conference focused on three key topic areas:

Collaboration

How partnership working or a multisectoral approach is benefitting drowning prevention.

Inclusion

Why an inclusive approach to drowning prevention is vital to help our diverse population enjoy water safely.

Innovation

How technology and connected communities can help people enjoy the water and prevent drowning.

The day featured powerful keynote speeches from individuals with personal experience of loss to drowning, an update on future plans for the National Water Safety Forum by the Forum’s chair, Professor Mike Tipton, and an illuminating panel discussion on the role of gender in water safety campaigns lead by Dr Jill Nash and Dr Katherine King from Bournemouth University.

Delegates had a range of breakout sessions to choose from throughout the day, with topics covering communications, collaborative forums, education, data and insight, risk management, and advances in rescue and lifesaving techniques and technology. In the final session, all delegates were invited to break into small groups to discuss their ideas for the next iteration of the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy.

You can download a copy of the Abstract Booklet below, which provides a summary of all conference presentations.