I WAS pleased to have been invited to the launch of the Stay Aware, Stay Safe, Stay Together campaign last week.

I want to thank John and Ceri Channon for all of their hard work in championing Tom’s legacy and ensuring no other family has to experience the same pain that they have. It was particularly poignant to launch this event at St David’s College, where Tom was a student.

My colleagues in the Welsh Government are pleased to have worked alongside John and Ceri on the scheme, with the Education Minister saying:

“John and Ceri Channon have shown tremendous courage following the tragic death of their son, Tom and the family continues to do important work in raising awareness of accidents which can happen on holiday.”

All the materials will be available for Schools and Colleges on the bilingual HWB platform.

John and Ceri have already made great achievements with their campaign to prevent such tragedies; following their campaign, the wall was made safer, and a new training programme was approved for British consulate staff to improve both the safety of holidaymakers and support for bereaved families.

It is great to see that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will test the measures of the new scheme and make adjustments in the Balearics this summer, before it is rolled out to other resorts, a testament to the dedication John and Ceri have shown in securing these changes.

Families will welcome this programme as their children think of making their first independent trips, and join us in hoping that this will prevent other tragedies.

We all want our children to enjoy themselves and make memories and have the opportunity to go abroad.

But we all want them to come home safely at the end of that, and this campaign, I am sure, will encourage young people to take steps to keep themselves safe both here in the UK and abroad.