Manage school pool use

Find out about safe pool use and community use, during and outside school hours.

Level of complianceMain audienceOther

Required

  • Boards
  • Property Manager
  • Principals and Tumuaki

Boards must make sure everyone who is using the school pool with your permission remains healthy and safe. This guidance supports you to meet your obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 by providing management tips for during and outside of school hours. 

Health and safety

Schools have a duty to everyone in the workplace, and this includes people using school pools inside and outside of normal school hours, for example summer holidays. Any visitors to your workplace also have a duty to look after their own health and safety.

The board must be able to show that the school has taken all reasonable steps to ensure people’s health and safety.

Reasonable steps could include:

  • an update in a school newsletter setting the schools expectations for use of school grounds outside of normal school hours
  • procedures for day-to-day pool management and rules for pool users

As part of managing your pool safely we recommend you review your school’s health and safety systems. This will help you meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 — NZ Legislation website(external link)

Day-to-day pool management procedures

You must have procedures in place for managing your pool day to day.

Make sure that the people involved in managing the pool understand their role.

Consider including these sample procedures below.

  • Regularly check the operation and effectiveness of the pool gates and locks. Replace any locks that stick or don’t close properly.
  • Ensure the first aid kit is accessible to pool users and regularly checked.
  • Lock pool chemicals away from the swimming pool and changing rooms. Store and dispose of them according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Put away pool equipment when not in use as it can be a potential hazard if left lying around. Do not store pool equipment in the same area as the pool chemicals (to prevent students accessing hazardous chemicals).
  • Don't allow aquatic toys that aren't designed for pool use, such as boogie boards.
  • Manage water quality in compliance with current standards. Refer to our Maintain a school pool page.

Rules for pool users

Develop rules for the safe use of your pool.

Display the rules where they can be read by all pool users, such as on a sign beside the gate.

Consider these sample rules below.

  • Nobody is to swim alone. There must always be at least 1 pool supervisor present when the pool is in use. Additional supervisors are required as the number of people swimming increases.
  • Children under 8 years of age must be actively supervised by someone who's at least 16, who can give immediate help.
  • The pool supervisor must make sure the gate is always securely closed.
  • Nobody is to swim while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Check the depth of water before entering the pool.
  • Check for hazards, such as steep slopes into deeper water.
  • No running, jumping, or diving into the pool.
  • Return pool equipment to the storeroom after use.
  • Boogie boards, surf boards and kayaks are not to be used in the pool.
  • The first aid kit is stored in the...
  • The closest telephone for emergencies is located at...

Lifeguards

School pools don't need professional lifeguards, however risk must be managed and supervision is required.

There must always be at least one pool supervisor present when the pool's in use.

Additional supervisors are required as the number of people swimming increases.

Children under 8 years of age must be actively supervised by someone who is at least 16, who can give immediate help.

Fences and signs

Make sure people can’t access the pool when:

  • there's no one to supervise, or
  • they’re uninvited, such as trespassers entering the pool outside school hours.

To minimise unauthorised use, consider having a security system.

Pool use outside school hours

Keeping a school pool open or available outside of core school hours is a decision for the board.

The board should have a policy around the management of use outside of school hours. This could include volunteer/parent run system with overall supervision by a staff member.

Sharing pool facilities

We encourage schools without pools to collaborate with local community groups and councils, or each other. In some cases, schools have worked in partnership with local community groups and councils to co-own facilities and redevelop existing pools.

We believe this approach provides better value for money both locally and nationally and leads to a better use of existing facilities.

List of schools with pools

The following document contains a list of schools with swimming pools as of 8 December 2019.

Schools with pools list [XLSX, 44 KB]

Boards are able to make the decision to close pools, temporarily or permanently, without informing the Ministry. This means there may be some variation between the pools actually operating, and the pools recorded in the Ministry’s database.

Boards may decide to close pools for a range of reasons. Common examples include cost, a lack of use, or the availability of better local alternatives.

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