APPENDIX 6
Supervision of Paddling Pool
James Parker 23 August 2011
BACKGROUND
The paddling pool is a facility enjoyed by a very large number of residents. It is open
typically from early May until early October (depending on weather) and, currently, is
supervised seven days a week from approximately 9am-4pm. Outside these hours it is
not supervised and nominally ‘closed’ however we have no means to prevent access so
in practice it is often used.
Each summer a supervisor is hired and receives basic first aid training and, where
possible, a CRB check. They are required to work six days per week including Saturday,
Sunday and public holidays. On the day when they are not working one of our staff
performs the task.
The supervisor receives basic first aid training and a CRB application is made. It is
questionable whether this is necessary. In practice the CRB confirmation takes several
weeks to arrive and we cannot generally hire people sufficiently far in advance to
guarantee that the CRB arrives before their duties commence so we ask the individual to
sign a form certifying that they do not have any convictions. Clearly the value of this is
questionable however the combination of insisting that a CRB form is completed and that
they sign a declaration gives us some degree of security. The cost of the annual
supervision is about £6500. It does not always prove easy to find someone who wishes
to give up the entire summer to what can be a rather tedious job, and we have on
occasions been forced to leave the pool unsupervised or take our permanent staff off of
maintenance duties to provide cover. The supervisor is also responsible for regular litter
picking, checking the chlorine content and, where possible, discouraging ‘undesirables’.
Judging when to open the pool and commence supervision is fraught with difficulty and
an early spell of good weather (as occurred this year) can prompt complaints that we
have not opened the pool sufficiently early. Many other Councils apply rigid and
restrictive dates (for example summer school holidays only), we are more flexible
however complaints are still occasionally received.
RECENT ADVICE
Advice has recently been taken from a health and safety professional. Essentially this is
that we are not obliged to supervise the pool so long as we erect adequate signage
making it clear that a parent or accompanying adult is responsible for their children and
providing certain other information. The current situation is ambiguous and in some
ways it would be a clearer legal position if we did not supervise the pool.
If we were to withdraw supervision we would of course still perform regular water quality
checks, a check on the presence of foreign matter (most notably glass) and litter picks.
Withdrawal of supervision would make the legal position clear, eliminate the issues with
CRB checks and staffing, and allow us to open the pool earlier in the season.
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APPENDIX 6
THE RISK IF SUPERVISION IS WITHDRAWN
Given the advice there would appear to be no legal risk so long as we follow the required
signage recommendations. There are two non-legal risks namely
That the decision not to supervise could attract adverse publicity
That any future incident could attract an adverse comment on the decision not to
supervise
These could, to some extent, be mitigated if we make it clear that monies saved will be
re-invested in the pool.
THE FUTURE
It has been suggested that the pool be replaced with a ‘splash park’ essentially an array
of ground level fountains. These provide a wet experience without the risk of drowning.
Further investigation is required to establish
The capital cost
The comparative running cost
The comparative popularity
The current pool has a lifetime of several years (at which point a liner replacement and
substantial re-build will be required) so, there is no pressing operational reason to make
this change unless it is felt that the increased utility merits decommissioning the current
pool well before the end of its natural lifetime.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that supervision be withdrawn from the end of the current season
and that signage be erected in accordance with the recommendations of our Health and
Safety Adviser.
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