Joe Abbess: Southampton MP calls for water safety lessons

It follows the death of Southampton trainee chef Joe Abbess, one of two young people who died following an incident near Bournemouth Pier on May 31, 2023.

A rip tide claimed the life of 17-year-old Joe and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan, of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.

Now Darren Paffey, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, is calling for water safety to be taught in schools.

He has secured a backbench debate in Parliament on Thursday, when MPs from across the political spectrum will discuss the issue.

Joe Abbess, 17, was a trainee chef on a catering course at City College Southampton when he died in 2023 (Image: Ben McKinnon/UGC)

Mr Pafffey said classroom-based water safety education should become a mandatory part of the national curriculum.

He also wants the government to devise a national strategy to monitor the implementation of an existing policy that aims to ensure every child can swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school.

READ MORE: Tributes to 'brilliant, genuine, and inspiring' teenager who died at Bournemouth beach

The MP is about to launch the All-Party Parliamentary Group on water safety education, which will be co-chaired by Mr Paffey and Lord Storey, who is patron of the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS).

The charity will work with the new group to lobby the government in a bid to secure change.

Mr Paffey said: "Joe tragically drowned in an area that was designated as a safe swimming zone. Sadly, this was far from an isolated case as we know the number of child drownings has doubled since 2019-20."

Southampton teenager Joe Abbess and his mother Vanessa (Image: Vanessa Abbess)

New data from RLSS shows nearly 150 children in England, Scotland and Wales have died in water-related tragedies in the past three years.

Mr Paffey said: "There is an urgent need for Parliamentarians to put forward ideas around how we can best promote water safety through the education system."

READ MORE: Mother of Southampton teen Joe Abbess 'misses him every day' a year after he drowned near Bournemouth Pier

Joe's mother, Vanessa, added: "Following Joe's tragic death, I feel it is very important to tell his story to warn others of the dangers and unpredictability of the sea.

"I have been working with RLSS since September 2023 to promote their free-of-charge Water Smart Schools initiative and have featured in their Drowning Prevention campaigns.

“I wholeheartedly believe a knowledge of water safety could potentially save many lives.

"I am very grateful for Darren's support and feel that mandatory water safety education would be incredibly beneficial for all children."

Mrs Abbess has previously said: “Nature can be incredibly unpredictable, and things change in the sea very fast.

"Joe was swimming in waist-high water and wasn’t doing anything wrong. Circumstances and the ferocity of the sea made things happen very quickly."