We feel strongly that school swimming isn’t enough and this was proven by a recent report which stated swimming was not being taken seriously enough by primary schools.
The report by the Curriculum Swimming & Water Safety Review Group concluded that just over a third (36%) of primary schools provide lessons, with all children achieving the national curriculum targets. It suggested that there were many barriers to schools offering proper swimming and water safety instruction, including teachers not feeling confident in teaching the subject because of lack of formal training, hiring pools and swimming instructors and concerns that time away from the classroom disrupts the school day.
With the government making swimming part of the national curriculum there really should not be any excuse why any child in the UK cannot swim. However, the evidence from this report suggests otherwise – only 50% of primary school children can swim.
We believe that learning to swim is essential
A vital life skill and parents have a duty to ensure that their children can swim. Whilst a range of extra-curricular skills are important for children to develop as rounded individuals, none are quite as vital and fundamental as learning to swim.
A 2012 report from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reveals drowning leads to more deaths among young children aged 1 to 4 than any other cause except birth defects. Children under 4 also had the highest rate of nonfatal drownings, meaning injuries from near drowning that may have landed them in the emergency room or in the hospital.
In summary…
Teaching young children basic survival swimming skills can have a life-long immunisation effect against drowning. This gives parents immeasurable peace of mind, whether their children are playing in and around the pool on holiday as young children, or go swimming on their own with friends as older children. Our lessons focus on technique in a small group environment whereas school swimming tends to be in much larger groups.
Sports Generation are therefore committed to children learning to swim from as young as three months old – we believe you can’t start teaching swimming too early!
For more information about swimming lessons with us, call 0208 940 9431 or email info@sportsgeneration.co.uk
