Rebecca Ramsey: mum of tragic Chorley teen celebrates child water safety campaign success

Beckie Ramsay from Chorley said she was "absolutely overwhelmed" by the fact that water safety is to be added to the national curriculum and that her 13-year-old son Dylan had not "died in vain".

Dylan Ramsay was swimming at Hill Top Quarry in Whittle-le-Woods, near Chorley, when he suffered cold water shock in July 2011.

Beckie, who received a BEM for her water safety campaigning, told the BBC after hearing that water safety is now being included in a new school sport activity plan: "This is massive for everybody who has fought for it - this is just crazy.

"It is just so hard to take in - I've worked so hard."

She said the newly released Department for Education (DFE) document School Sport and Activity Action Plan was "everything I have fought for", adding: "I didn't think this day would actually come and I can finally say Dylan did not die in vain."

Beckie first stressed the message of safe swimming in the aftermath of the death of her son who she described as a strong swimmer.

In the years since Dylan’s death, she has worked with the police and bodies such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RLNI) to raise awareness of the risks.

She has spoken about water safety to more than 180,000 children in schools, and was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the Prevention of Water Related Accidents’.

Last year, she was nominated for the Petition Campaign of the Year Award, celebrating the inspiring people who have used petitions started on Parliament’s petitions website to build support for their campaigns for change.

Beckie’s petition, on the issue of water safety, received more than 108,000 signatures.

"We only teach our children enough to kill them - we teach them to swim but not about water safety," she said.

"If you give a child a false sense of security without explaining the risks of different types of water you are setting them up to fail," Ms Ramsay added.

The DFE School Sport and Activity Action Plan document says: "Swimming and water safety is included in the primary PE national curriculum. All pupils should be taught to swim and how to be safe in and around water during their time in primary school, which can be usefully reinforced at secondary school.

"All pupils should also be taught practical water safety techniques in a pool, such as how to float, tread water, signal for help and exit from deep water.

"This can be complemented by classroom-based lessons that go further and cover aspects such as cold water shock, beach flags or the dangers of rip currents."

Beckie has also set up a Families Against Drowning (FAD) Facebook page for those who have lost loved ones to drowning.

She said she was determined to ensure the policy was followed up, adding: "We need to make that every child and every school know the facts."