The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM) has reviewed its guidance on child admission policies, following ongoing concerns from campaign groups on the difficulties of taking children swimming.

Speaking at the Power of Sport conference, the ISRM’s acting head of operations, Linda Bishop-Bailey, said that while the fundamentals of the guidelines had not changed, the new document moved away from the concept of a ‘standard pool’.

She added that in future, greater emphasis would be placed on pool operators – through conducting risk assessments of their individual pools – to draw up their own entry policies, based on factors such as visibility, number of lifeguards and anti-drowning systems.

The ISRM’s guidelines have come under fire in recent months, particularly from the Right to Swim group, for preventing parents from accompanying several children at once, but the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has endorsed the new guidance.

Bishop-Bailey said that the UK’s good record in public swimming pool safety had been built on maintaining the highest standards, and urged operators to be rigorous in thoroughly assessing the dangers in their pools. Copies are available from www.isrm.co.uk