School offering zero swimming lessons, son is now in year 6 and cant swim

[Jobseeker19]

Is it compulsory for a school to do swimming lessons?

My son has never had them and is now in year 6.

When I was a child we did it every year.

I asked them today and was told that they are not doing it because of covid, when I told them my child is in year 6 and never had them they told me they only do it in year 5 for one term thats it and thats how all primary schools do it.

They are chatting shit as I have had an older child through there who also never had lessons.

What can I do about it?

[Lookwhoseinsideagain]

Pay for swimming lessons if it's that important to you

[dementedpixie]

Pay for your own swimming lessons!
My 2 had one 12 week block of swimming at school. Iy6a not something to be relied on to teach your kids to swim

[PileOfBooks]

What do you think you can do about it? You can take your child swimming or pay for lessons.

It's very unusual for schools to do regular swimming.

[NerrSnerr]

What can I do about it?

Take your child to swimming lessons or just take them swimming yourself.

Our school does one year of swimming in year 4 or 5 but that hasn't restarted after Covid yet so unsure if it's been scrapped.

I remember school lessons when I was at school, we only had about 20 minutes in the pool every week so doubt it was enough to learn to swim without private lessons or parents teaching.

[Blueuggboots]

Hi to your local pool and book lessons like lots of other parents do??!

[HarrisMcCoo]

My DC never got swimming lessons via school system. I had to arrange this as extra curricular. As it's a life skill, I think it should be done in school hours but so many cutbacks means it's up to parents to fund it🤷

[SummerHouse]

Is it possible to take them yourself weekly. Sure the school should have something in place as it's on the curriculum. But they seem to be skirting it and the important thing is not whose fault it is, but that your child learns this life skill.

[Frazzled2207]

Our primary does two terms for each child, normally in year 3/4 but they ones that missed out (now year 5/6) are getting theirs late to make up for it.
That said, all parents I know she been paying for lessons from a much younger age.

[toothpicklover]

Erm pay for them. Mine goes to the local council pool, £23 a month and can use the pool for free outside of his lessons.
People spend more on junk/coffees etc a month than my sons swimming lessons cost.

[tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz]

Agree best to pay. We did and alongside that DD occasionally did school lessons. Which, by the time they got to pool on bus, changed, they had about 15 minutes of actual proper swim time

[Jobseeker19]

I have 3 children I can't afford swimming lessons for all.

Plus I think the school is doing a disservice.

[Ihopeyourcakeisshit]

what can I do about it?
Seriously

[Porfre]

Our school does it for a term.for year 5 children.

I've already taken my older one swimming she did it for 2 years. She got her 10m. But it's been a while and I think shes probably forgotten most of it. Just need to start the lessons again. Problem is shes already got loads of other things she goes to.
Then next year will sign up the younger one.

[tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz]

tooth makes a good point, you often get to use the pool for free outside of lessons.

Why not go as a family too?

If it's £, you may need to prioritise who gets lessons first.

But I think schools only need to offer a PE provision of which swimming is one part.

[TottieMarchpane]

Agree with PP - pay for your own.

The group of non-swimmers at school lessons rarely become swimmers (of more than 10m, at any rate) by the end of the block. Not for want of trying or bad teaching, just lack of time in the actual pool plus the number of children per teacher.

[fallfallfall]

A few school lessons isn’t enough.
His life is really your responsibility, so you need to sort out lessons.

[Jobseeker19]

@Ihopeyourcakeisshit

what can I do about it?
Seriously

Yh seriously, how can I get the school to actually do what is compulsory on the curriculum.

Google it for yourself

[MissDollyMix]

My dc 1 did swimming lessons through junior school from 7-10. They were run by our local leisure centre. Not the school's fault but they were crap. If those had been his only swimming lessons he would never have learnt. However, in common with most children I know I took him for lessons in his spare time. Yes, it's expensive (but I also had to pay for the school lessons, they weren't free) and time consuming but it's really the only way you can guarantee your child learns this vital life skill. Neither of my children have had school swimming lessons since covid. I suspect it's much harder to organise at the moment. DC2 (8) hasn't had any school lessons but as she's been learning, both in out of school lessons and with me when I take her to the pool, she's a competent swimmer. In short, either pay yourself, or teach your son yourself if money is tight.

[Plumtree391]

Can you not take your son swimming?

[NerrSnerr]

Even if the school did offer some lessons it's highly likely that it wouldn't be enough to teach your children to be safe and confident in the water. That is your responsibility as a parent.

[Coronado2]

Schools swimming lessons is never enough for a child to learn to swim.

I think covid is a convenient excise not to do swimming at school, but I don't think it's schools responsibility to teach children to swim either.

[KleineDracheKokosnuss]

School run lessons are generally dire anyway, and you have zero chance of forcing them into somehow providing them. You’ll have to pay for them yourself.

[NigellaSeed]

You can't afford to teach your 3 DC how to swim? I think you needed to have thought of the cost of raising them before you had them then. You'll have to find the money, as pp said, it's a life skill.

[dementedpixie]

Swimming lessons are generally done in small groups. A school class is too large a group to be useful for learning to swim.

Take them to the pool yourself if you can't afford lessons

[Jobseeker19]

@Plumtree391

Can you not take your son swimming?

I do not know how to teach a child to swim.

I have taken them to the pool to splash around, that is not a lesson.

When I went to school we learnt how to swim and then we also went with our parents and friends to the pool.

I dont have £60 plus pounds a term to teach my children to swim.

I also work (despite my username), and the swimming lessons are during the week at 4pm.

They are also for different age range groups.

I have 3 children two could be in one class but the other would be in a different swim class. How much of my time is going to be spent taking then to lessons and moving my work around that?!

Also, when I take my children swimming with me for fun, they only let me take 2 children at a time as they can't swim.

Telling me to pay for lessons, which I am looking into right now, doesn't take away from the fact that the school have not done what they should.