Health and safety responsibilities for school pools

Boards are responsible for health and safety at school under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 – New Zealand Legislation

This means you must take all reasonably practicable steps to make sure everyone using your pool with your permission remains safe and healthy.

You must:

• manage the pool’s water quality
• have rules for safe use
• install and maintain suitable fencing and gates.

Pool water quality standards

School pools must meet all the requirements of New Zealand Standard NZS 5826:2010 'Pool water quality'. The standard covers:

• methods of water treatment
• safe handling of swimming pool chemicals
• the requirement for pools to have risk management plans.

Compliance with NZS 5826:2010 is a PoolSafe requirement. It is cited in the Public Health Bill 2007.

Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) have guidelines for pool operators that include detailed information about the Standard in Chapter 5: Plant Operation.

Aquatic Facility Guidelines – Sport New Zealand | Ihi Aotearoa

You can purchase the standard from the New Zealand Standards website.

NZS 5826:2010 'Pool water quality' – Standards New Zealand

Water testing

A person holding New Zealand Qualifications Authority unit standards in pool water quality must continuously supervise water quality. The qualified person does not have to be at the pool at all times but must be available if needed. If they're not available, the pool can't be used.

Qualify as a water quality tester

Unit Standard 20046 is the minimum recommended training to meet NZS 5826:2010. It is designed for school caretakers.

A number of training providers offer training in the appropriate unit standards. Most courses are 1 or 2 days. You can cluster with other schools to arrange training.

Monthly microbiological testing

You must arrange for monthly microbiological monitoring of the pool water. You will need to send pool water samples each month to a laboratory that specialises in water treatment.

Contact your local council to find out about environmental health testing services.

Supervision requirements and rules for safe use

School pools do not need to have a lifeguard. You must have at least one pool supervisor present whenever the pool is in use.

Children under 8 years of age must be actively supervised by someone who is at least 16 and can give immediate help. Additional supervisors are required as the number of people swimming increases.

You must have rules and procedures for pool use that should include supervision ratios.

Pool use outside school hours

The board can decide to make the pool available outside core school hours.

You must have a policy to manage out-of-hours use. This could be a volunteer/parent run system with overall supervision by a staff member.

Fences and gates

There are specific safety standards you must comply to for fencing and gates. Read these and other safety and design standards on the safety and design standards for school pools page.

Safety and design standards for school pools