With 300,000 visitors a year and pools being particularly busy due to the poor summer weather, visitor safety has never been more important at Plymouth Pavilions Leisure Department in Devon.

That is why staff at Plymouth Pavilions have just completed a new management course to enhance their knowledge of the health and safety laws relating to swimming pools and managing serious incidents.

The staff, which included lifeguards, Duty Managers and Operations Managers completed a four day training course offered by IQL UK on behalf of the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK).

All the members of staff passed the National Pool Management Qualification (NPMQ) which is assessed with tests at the end of each day and an overall course assessment.

Commenting on the course at Plymouth Pavilions, Tara Dillon, Executive Director of IQL UK, said: "Parents are going to be thinking about taking their children to the swimming pool due to the bad weather, this summer. By staff having the NPMQ, parents can be assured that the staff at Plymouth Pavilions have been given the best possible knowledge in dealing with a situation should it arise."

Louise Chaves, Leisure Services Manager at Plymouth Pavilions said: "The course has benefited us already as it has bought us together as a team and given us a new motivation. It was encouraging to see that we are currently operating well within the guidance given and it focused our attention onto the areas which need work.

"One immediate action we have taken is to put in place a serious incident pack which we hadn't previously thought about. We are also enhancing our risk assessment process through a greater staff involvement."

Louise added: "I feel it is important for all Managers to have a solid understanding of procedures, operational issues and their importance so that as a team we will have similar values and understandings.