Swim4life Watford

Having read the recent stories about the number of children leaving primary school unable to swim 25m, as both a primary school teacher and a swim school owner, I find it incredibly frustrating.
The latest figures show that 27% of children are unable to swim 25m unaided and is much higher in certain areas of the country.
Before we start blaming primary schools, we need to look at the bigger picture.
Schools are under huge financial and logistical pressure. They have to find the money for pool hire, swimming teachers, transport, and finding regular pool space is becoming increasingly difficult.
For some children, cultural or religious factors can make accessing swimming much more difficult. For others, it’s simply the cost of lessons.
I find it incredibly frustrating that private swim schools are charged VAT on their swimming lessons, making something that should be a basic life skill even less affordable for families.
Learning to swim should NOT be optional.
It should not be a postcode lottery.
It shouldn’t depend on whether parents can afford weekly swimming lessons.
And it certainly shouldn’t depend on whether your school happens to have easy access to a swimming pool.
We also know that teaching a child to swim 25m does not go far enough.
Being able to swim 25m is an important milestone but children need to learn water safety strategies as well as stroke technique and stamina. They need to understand the different challenges open water swimming presents and what to do if they ever find themselves in difficulty.
They need to understand that swimming in a pool is VERY different from being in open water.
It has been utterly terrible to see all of the drownings on our UK beaches this summer. Drownings that are preventable.
We need to stop treating swimming as an optional extra.
We need the Government and local councils to properly support schools and swimming providers so that every child has access to high-quality swimming and water-safety education. Swimming is great exercise, fantastic fun & brilliant for mental health. AND a lifelong skill that saves lives
Department for Education Watford Borough Council Swim England Andy Burnham Peter Taylor RNLI

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