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Original poster

Swimming lessons at school and out of school?

54 replies

Methodlem · 07/09/2022 06:43

DC is in year 3 and is average in terms of swimming ability (as far as I can judge. Most children in their class appear to be about age 7).

If your child does swimming lessons at school do they also do them out of school? DC doesn't love them and they do take up a whole evening so we can't relax/ do homework etc.

OP posts:
CoffeeWithCheese · 07/09/2022 06:51

Yep mine do. School lessons are basically about 20 mins of "how not to drown" rather than actually developing techniques etc. Then 10 mins in the changing room comparing who's got what cartoon character on their pants and flicking each other with towels really.

It's a bit more of a priority for my kids since one set of grandparents lives on the side of a loch and the other set live on a riverbank - but I think it's important.

ThatWillBeAll · 07/09/2022 06:54

Yes, mine had swimming lessons until they were good swimmers. Then they didn't have to have them any more. The school ones were just something extra that was happening at school that they went to. Like any PE lesson.

BendingSpoons · 07/09/2022 06:57

Swimming lessons here seem to be for 1 term in about year 4. That aline won't teach a child to swim.

Saying that, if it's a real chore, could you look at another option? Our local pool does holiday lessons (every day for a week). A friend has stopped the ongoing lessons for a bit as her DD had got stuck not progressing but did lessons one half term and felt she made good progress.

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ThisisCollie2022 · 07/09/2022 07:00

Swimming lessons at our primary school are an absolute shambles. And by no means fit to be called "swimming lessons"

We live by the sea, so have opted for DS to have real swimming lessons. Weekly and he's been going for the year.

LeafHunter · 07/09/2022 07:02

We swim at least weekly as a family so swimming lessons stopped when everyone could confidently do a few strokes for at least a length. Would have continued them if we weren’t all swimming together though.

Ewetoo · 07/09/2022 07:02

Our school doesn't offer swimming lessons. Mine go to a local leisure centre for group classes (7 in group) & the class lasts 30 mins. They really enjoy their lessons, however it's 120 quid each for 10 classes.... Oldest is on badge 3, youngest has been on 2 for the past year😩 I want them to do all the badges, swimming is so important.

lickenchugget · 07/09/2022 07:04

Yes, school swimming lessons are minimal and don’t cover the correct stroke and positioning anything like their swimming club lessons. They also don’t do it year round; they have to go in different blocks.

Amazongirl9 · 07/09/2022 07:07

Both of mine had private lessons. The school ones aren’t adequate.

piscesangel · 07/09/2022 07:08

Could you maybe find a shorter lesson? Mine have made good progress just with 30 min weekly lessons - even with the changing etc that still leaves us time for other things in an evening

NCHammer2022 · 07/09/2022 07:11

I definitely wouldn’t rely on school lessons alone. Could you look for a holiday intensive course or something if you’re finding weekly lessons a chore?

PuttingDownRoots · 07/09/2022 07:12

I removed mine from council lessons as they were a disorganised shambles. (Completed stage 5/most of stage 5)

Eldest never got school swimming due to Covid (now Yr7)
Youngest about to go in Yr5. Not got high hopes

Mostly teaching myself really.

NCHammer2022 · 07/09/2022 07:12

Or something nearer, if a 30 minute lesson is taking over the whole evening I assume there’s some travel involved.

TeenDivided · 07/09/2022 07:18

We didn't stop our DDs private swimming lessons just for half a term of in school lessons.

However if my DDs had been at a school with its own pool where swimming lessons were weekly and part of the curriculum across all juniors, then I might have dropped private lessons.

In our school regularly 1/3rd of the class couldn't swim at all at the start of lessons. You can't tell if they are 'average' from their private lessons as you are only looking at the group of children who are being taught.

Sickoffamilydrama · 07/09/2022 07:19

Swimming is for me a life skill (I know others don't see it that way).
The school lessons really aren't enough it takes years to learn to swim well.

If your child doesn't enjoy them is there another one they can go to, we used to have ones run by the local swimming squad that my eldest DC attended that weren't that well advertised.

popandchoc · 07/09/2022 07:23

My eldest stopped the out of school swimming lessons when she started the in school ones in year 4. Unfortunately they got cut short as was the year we first went into lockdown but she was swimming well enough i left it at that.
Will do same with my youngest if she is swimming well by end of year 4.

Ewetoo · 07/09/2022 07:24

Sickoffamilydrama · 07/09/2022 07:19

Swimming is for me a life skill (I know others don't see it that way).
The school lessons really aren't enough it takes years to learn to swim well.

If your child doesn't enjoy them is there another one they can go to, we used to have ones run by the local swimming squad that my eldest DC attended that weren't that well advertised.

@Sickoffamilydrama thank you for reiterating it takes years to swim well! Dc2 has been at stage 2 for nearly a year😩 we are persevering though & I want them to get all their 10 badges. It really is so important.

popandchoc · 07/09/2022 07:24

Just to add the swimming pool they go to and teachers are the same for both their normal lessons and school ones.

liveforsummer · 07/09/2022 07:28

Yes, school swimming is just a term usually. It's good to get to swim twice on those weeks. DC's lessons are only 25 minutes long though so certainly doesn't take up a whole evening. We have 2 consecutive lessons plus 1.5 hours of guides on swimming night and still have time to cook in between

Sickoffamilydrama · 07/09/2022 07:32

Ewetoo · 07/09/2022 07:24

@Sickoffamilydrama thank you for reiterating it takes years to swim well! Dc2 has been at stage 2 for nearly a year😩 we are persevering though & I want them to get all their 10 badges. It really is so important.

Show quote history

Yes we are going through this with our youngest, I know it will change soon but at the moment it appears we are paying for him to not listen, bounce up and down at the edge practice controlled drowning.

Our eldest 2 didn't really start to get good until about 2/3 years into lessons. They went onto train in the swimming squad 1 still does.

BestCatMumEver · 07/09/2022 07:40

Mine have swimming lessons, they did school swimming for one term but it was a waste of time. They don’t learn any technique and you can’t adequately teach a class of children as the ratios are too big. DH is a club swimmer and doesn’t rate school lessons at all. It takes years to learn to swim well.

Bananarama21 · 07/09/2022 07:49

Hi I'm a school swimming teacher it varies to be honest. The better swimmers are those that have learning outside of school swimming. We do 2 weeks blocks which you can see the progression but it's about keeping it up afterwards.

BestCatMumEver your child is very privileged to have private lessons and in are club some children are not. Some might not have been in a pool before. It's about getting them to a to b not refine stroke technique which is for learn 2 swim and club level. Obviously I correct anything that which help them swim better e.g face in blowing bubbles etc but it's completely different to how I would teach my stage 6/7 stages. Obviously any club swimmers I have are in top group and il maximise how far they can go. But my middle group is getting them strong and efficient to get 25 metres. We have two teachers. I currently have 19 swimmers trust me they get alot of swimming within that time. So please don't be snotty about school swimming lessons they are the only opportunity for some children to learn to swim.

BatteryPoweredMammy · 07/09/2022 07:59

School swimming lessons is essentially another box ticking exercise and doesn’t offer adequate swimming training for most kids. Likewise private group swimming lessons depend on the size of the group and the ability of the teacher.

My DS went attended private group sessions for 4 years but didn’t improve very much in all that time. I found paying for a few 1:1 lessons for my son with a recommended teacher was the best thing and he became a confident swimmer after about 4 lessons. We live in a coastal area so I felt it was vital that he learnt to be a confident swimmer.

BestCatMumEver · 07/09/2022 08:20

@Bananarama21 I’m well aware my children are privileged to have lessons. I never did and relied on school lessons once a week. I cannot swim well and I’m lucky in that DH can teach me some technique. I’m giving my experience of school lessons and I’m allowed to share my opinion. Neither of my children are interested in swimming for a club. The trouble with our school swimming is that they go for one term. Children that don’t have swimming lessons might learn something in that time but if parents can’t afford private lessons then it’s barely going to scratch the surface. Children that have lessons already, well, they have lessons already. School swimming lessons weren’t going to make any difference to my DC who can swim. My eldest is on stage 7 yet got put in the group that can’t swim and then I had to deal with that upset every week as he didn’t want to go. It wasn’t worth it to be honest. Clearly the quality of teaching will vary.

Phillipa12 · 07/09/2022 08:21

At my dc's school in yr3/4/5 and 6 they seem every week for the school year. They also get assessed and placed in the correct group for their ability and get taught exactly the same things as they do in their private lessons. If this is the case with your school then no, private lessons are not necessary., but seeing as most pp's have stated differently I would keep the private lessons. Mine still swim privately as they do get more from this session and they use the school swim as an added bonus. (And no they are not privately educated, they attend a local primary that is walking distance from a pool)

Ilovelindor · 07/09/2022 08:27

Are you able to change days to go on a weekend? We do swimming lessons with my two on a Sunday morning. They're only 30 minutes.

Although I appreciate it may not be quite so easy to move. We were on a waiting list for 12 months due to covid etc to get them into lessons!