Free online CPR course available now

As the festive season approaches, water safety has never been more critical.

The NSRI has launched a free online course, Drowning Prevention for Parents and Caregivers, available through their learning platform, Bravo Bravo.

Designed to equip parents and caregivers with practical knowledge and life-saving skills, the course is available in English and Afrikaans, with versions in isiXhosa and Zulu coming soon.

Bravo Bravo is the NSRI’s online learning platform, offering free courses in water safety and skippering. The platform aims to make vital water safety information accessible in one central location, avoiding the common pitfall of fragmented resources.

Speaking about accessibility, Rebecca Carter-Smith, NSRI Lifeguarding Operations Manager, who led the development of the course, says, “I wanted parents and caregivers to find everything in one central place.”

She adds, “There is quite a lot of drowning prevention content out there, but while designing this course I realised how complicated it can be to access it… I didn’t want it to be a ‘hunt’ for information.”

The course is a short, practical module that guides participants through the essentials of keeping children safe around water. It covers:

• How drowning occurs, and how fast it can happen

• Common risks at home, pools, beaches, and rivers

• Simple prevention steps

• What to do in an emergency, including child and infant choking

• A clear walkthrough of child and infant CPR (HHHCAB)

• When and how to call for help

With practical demonstrations, visuals, and short quizzes, the course is designed to build confidence.

“The whole idea is to remove fear, build awareness, and give people the tools to act quickly and calmly,” Rebecca explains.

For the NSRI volunteer, her connection to water safety is both professional and personal. Her older brother survived a drowning incident as a toddler because her mother knew CPR. Later, Rebecca herself experienced two non-fatal drowning incidents as a child.

“My brother and I survived these situations not because we were ‘the lucky ones,’ but because key pieces of the drowning-prevention puzzle were present: someone knew what to do, someone checked the right place first, someone had the skills or the confidence to act,” she reflects.

Rebecca hopes the course will become the “seatbelt” of water safety. “If every parent understood the ten-second window of drowning, or practised child CPR even once, we would prevent countless emergencies,” she says.

Top Tips for Keeping Children Safe

• Always supervise children closely, no phones or distractions

• Use barriers around pools and empty small containers when not in use

• Remember that floatation devices are not substitutes for supervision

• Learn CPR and know emergency numbers (112 in South Africa)

• Teach children water safety rules early, and always swim with supervision

The course is free, online, and designed to be completed quickly, providing parents and caregivers with the knowledge and confidence to prevent accidents and save lives.

Click here to take the course today.