Starfish Club Welcome Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K00K2iIyyw

Starfish Nippers

Presenter Naomi Symington Program Director Janet Jones

• A modified and structured special needs Nippers Program

• This program is part of the standard club nippers at surf life saving clubs’

• All inclusive nippers

Beach safety and water awareness for all abilities

• Access to all philosophy in SLSA strategic plan

• Opportunity to increase access for members of our community

• Family values

• Experience and passion

Why did we start Starfish?

• Train the trainer induction PowerPoint – all online

• Structured lesson plans - all online

• Inclusive – running at same time as Nippers

• Contract for clubs signing up – no fee

Key Decisions

• For children and young adults aged 6 and above with

special needs

• Access for young people with a diverse range of special needs

• All individuals are treated with respect and dignity

• Extending individual nippers with their strengths

Designed for all abilities

• Inclusion • To run in conjunction with the age group nippers • Improve safety skills and awareness on the beach

and in the water for special needs participants • Engaging cadet and junior volunteers • Broader engagement • Opportunity for non-qualified members to be engaged

Aims & Objectives

• Inclusion • Social skills • Water awareness • Safety • Improves fitness and skills • Parent networking

Benefits

• Involvement within the community • Sense of worth for trainers • More understanding within the club • Club benefits financially • Life/long term membership engagement • Main stream nippers have more awareness

of others needs & abilities

Benefits continued…

• ‘Go starfish’ Chant • Starfish nipper song (optional) • Warm up run & stretches • Flags (modified) • Ball games • Surf patrol talk • Relays with other age groups • Wading activity • Board skills and catching waves • Body surfing • Sand activities • ‘Good bye Starfish’ chant

Activities

• Beach Relays • Wade Relays • Patrol talks and demonstrations • Board and tube rescues • Signals • Rips/tides on the ocean • Budding up for Activities • Various games • Joining other age groups for various activities depending

on their abilities

Integration with Nipper age groups

• Nippers with Special needs learn best by: • Firm, direct and friendly instructions with a smile on your

face • Repetition • Routine • Example • Clear simple instructions • Watching demonstrations • Being shown • Visual prompts • Hand directions and signals • Observing good role models

Learning

• Nippers and Starfish teaming up for wade and beach relays

• Pride of siblings

• Speeches at presentations & 5 year celebration • Jenni becoming a patrolling member

Greatest Moments

•Access for families to find starfish nipper clubs online •Media updates •Contact details for starfish clubs •Step by step instructions to become a starfish club •Signing an Agreement form •Access all the online resources •Presentation Video •Training Power Point •Lesson plans / Timetable •OHS & other resources

Website/Resources

Anglesea SLSC– 5 years Hampton SLSC – 3 years Point Lonsdale LSC – 3 years Mentone LSC – 3 years Torquay SLSC – Starfish member Ocean Grove SLSC – Starfish member South Port SLSC - South Aust – 1 year Venus Bay SLS – new Fingal Beach SLSC – new

Starfish Nipper Clubs

• Under the umbrella of nippers insurance • Ratio 1 trainer:1 nipper in the water and depending on

their individual needs 2 trainers:1 nipper in the water. • One water safety trainer with Bronze or SRC with each

nipper in the water • Water activities including swimming and wading on

patrolled beach between flags at all times • Board activities in the board area of the flags • Parents on the beach while program in progress

Insurance

• Make sure a family member is on the beach at all times

• Do not take nippers out beyond their depth if they have limited swimming skills

• At the end of the session, everyone helps pack upOnly entering the water with a water safety officer/s

• Always swim between the flags/allocated swimming area

• Must wear nipper hat/uniform at all times whilst at Nippers

Safety

• Have short attention spans-may need to move onto next activity, read their signs

• Thought processing slower-give them time to process and give a reply

• One instruction at a time • Less talk, more action approach • Need to be flexible • May need to explain with visual board pictures

Catering for Special Needs Nippers

Spreading the word

To have a Starfish Nippers, or similar, program at every surf club in Australia.

Vision

1. Sign agreement form – free. 2. Promote program in club newsletter,

Starfish and club website & Facebook 3. Gather interested people and potential

trainers to attend the Starfish Nippers Conference to learn more.

4. Start program and everyone will benefit within the club and community

Where to from here

AIMS To help clubs train new Starfish volunteers For current trainers to gain more knowledge about different abilities Date: Saturday 12nd November 2016 Time: 10am to 2pm Where: Life Saving Victoria headquarters Cost: $20 per head including morning tea and a light lunch Content: Looking at the Starfish Nippers Resources How clubs can to implement Starfish Nippers into their club and the benefits to the whole community Hints and ideas from current clubs running starfish nipper programs Networking with other clubs Learning more about types of special needs and their ways of learning Hear John Burt AOM Past Principal of the Ballarat Specialist School expertise in the area of Special Needs RSVP: 29th October – janet@starfishnippers.com.au ( only 25 spots so book early, first in )

Starfish Nippers Conference

• Website: www.starfishnippers.com.au • Like us on our Facebook Link:

https://www.facebook.com/StarfishNippers • Program Director: Janet Jones, Anglesea SLSC Mobile: 0408944424 jljones1@tpg.com.au • Naomi Symington, Director Junior Activities

Anglesea Mobile: 0411 239 575 naisymington@gmail.com • Jake Foster: Media and Communications Director Mobile: 0417990079 jake@gopr.com.au

More Information