Rookie Lifesavers from the North Sea Volunteer Lifeguards based in Whitley Bay are on the crest of a wave after getting hold of some specialist surf boards.

Pool lifeguards work as part of a team to keep a close watch over the pool and its users in order to anticipate potential problems and act to prevent them, identify emergencies quickly and take appropriate emergency action and first aid where necessary.

The National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ 7th Edition) meets all the criteria required for the training and certification of pool lifeguards and is accepted by most swimming pools as the benchmark qualification needed to work as a lifeguard. The qualification is recognised in the National Qualifications Framework as the Level 2 Certificate in Swimming Pool Supervision and Rescue and can be used as evidence when working towards a number of S/NVQ units.

Beach Lifeguard keeping a close eye on the beach

The RLSS UK National Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NBLQ) is recognised by beach operators across the UK and Ireland and covers all the skills involved with rescue, resuscitation, first aid and beach supervision. It is also recognised by the International Life Saving Federation.

NSVL runs regular beach lifeguard courses from our headquarters in Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England.

The RLSS UK awards and qualifications available at NSVL can count towards the 'service' category for all levels of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme.  Read on for more information.

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  Youth Lifesavers at the beach
  Teamwork
• Fitness
• Leadership
• Decision-making
• Keeping cool under pressure
• Quick thinking
  
• Saving lives

Lifesaving 1, 2 and 3 are three separate awards which include minimal swimming at the start but introduce the basic aquatic lifesaving skills and provide a good preparation for the Bronze Medallion.

They cover the swimming requirement for GCSE for PE and may also be used at Bronze level for the Duke of Edinburgh Award (Service).

The Lifesaving Bronze Medallion is the flaghip award of the Royal Life Saving Society UK, and many generations of lifesavers have achieved the award.

Recently revised to make it more relevant to lifesavers in the 21st Century, it is the one that counts and will give any person a great grounding in basic lifesaving skills to take with them throughout their life or develop further with other awards.

The Award of Merit's aim is to establish proficient levels of knowledge understanding and practical ability in simulated open water rescue situations in a swimming pool, while the Distinction is the highest Lifesaving award in which excellence is required.

The awards follow on from the Bronze Medallion and develop the skills already learnt, along with requiring increased fitness for the timed rescue elements.

These awards are a real achievment for any Lifesaver and are intended to be accompanied with some open water experience. 

For lifesavers who have learnt rescue skills in the pool, the next step is to put this into practice in the open water.

RLSS UK has a number of open water lifesaving awards as part of the progressive programme of awards, and NSVL can offer training for them all from our headquarters on Whitley Bay beach.

Our Rookies programme gives Rookies the chance to visit the beach and experience the sea in the summer season, and for those 12+ we can offer the Assistant Beach Lifesaver, Bronze Cross (14+) and Silver Cross (14+) awards.

All of these provide an excellent step towards gaining the National Beach Lifeguard Qualification at 16.

The awards are also suitable for adults who do not want to take the full Beach Lifeguard qualification.

Learning Life Support skills such as CPR comes hand in hand with the water-based rescue skills and the RLSS Life Support Award is a pre-requisite for most Lifesaving Awards.

The RLSS offers a number of awards which are specifically designed for people who supervise various water activities or work in aquatic environments (either pool or open water).

These awards are not lifeguard qualifications, but are recognised in various codes of practice as basic qualifications to give the holder a degree of competence in lifesaving situations.

NSVL can set up training and assessment for all the awards listed below, please contact This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for more information.

The RLSS Lifesaving Awards Programme (listed under Youth Lifesaving) is equally suitable for adults - indeed many adults may remember taking the Bronze Medallion in their school days and fancy getting back into it for a bit of fun.

Training sessions can be run during our Saturday evening pool session for anyone who is interested. Check the 'Upcoming' tab above and come along!