Quick poll - School Swimming Lessons - any good?

[TomCruisesLegalTeam]

I am using an alias as shall be talking about my DCs' school and don't want to be outed.

My DCs are in Yr4 and 6. From Year 3 onwards the children go swimming on one morning a week, for one half-term a year. Parents are expected to contribute to this.

I don't know how long they get in the pool, but it has made no difference to my DCs learning to swim. But neither did group swimming lessons at the weekends, which I stopped. They now have 1-1 swimming lessons which are pricey but they love them and progress every week.

So, questions:

Do you think your DCs school swimming lessons are worthwhile?

How often do they go?

Do they make progress?

How much does it cost you?

I am asking because I thought for years that swimming is part of the National Curriculum, so the school had to do this. Then I was recently told that it's not and they don't. Oh! So when I heard that measures to cut costs at school, due to budget cuts, were being discussed, I suggested that they stop the swimming lessons. To my surprise I was told that the swimming is totally funded by the parents' contributions.

I was

For my perspective, I am paying for my DCs to come out of the classroom one morning a week (only one half-term a year) to go swimming, but this does not improve their swimming one iota. This doesn't have to happen, and I am paying for it. I can't help but think: what the fuck?

But maybe other people's DCs have actually learned to swim at school swimming lessons?

Hence my poll.

Sorry for long post.

I should have made it clearer I am also paying for 1-1 swimming lessons for my DCs at the moment, as well as for the school lessons.

DD3 has school swimming lessons once a week for 6 weeks per year - we don't pay as it's part of the curriculum (according to the school). TBH for DD it's a bit pointless as she can swim confidently, but she enjoys it.
You might need to pay if the DC need transport to get to the pool, as I don't think that's necessarily covered by govt funding.

They're shit. Being brutal here - they're a waste of time for half the class who get lessons at the local pool anyway, and not enough for the ones who really need the time and won't get it anywhere else. The slots are so closely booked together by the local council that it's like a production line of one school out - next school in, and you don't get nearly long enough in the pool.

Usually it's funded by the council but the contributions are for transport there if it's not walking distance.

Think they could be targetted better at the kids who'd really benefit to be honest - but then there'd be ructions from those who didn't get to go so it's a lose/lose situation.

Mine only get one term of swimming in year 3. Parents have to pay. I don't think it taught them how to swim any better but it did make them better at getting changed and not loosing their kit! Not sure I would be happy to pay for more than a term of that.

Do they take all the juniors together or have otherwise very poor facilities for PE? As every year does seem a lot more than other schools I know of.

We used to get a timeslot from the local council and it was up to us how we allocated it. Some years we had always Y5 or whatever swimming, then they decided to rotate it across the year groups so Y4 got Winter term (thanks guys!), Y5 got Spring and Y6 got Summer.

Middle of winter trudging to the pool for 9.30 in the morning with 30 9 year olds deciding to walk through town clucking like chickens (to this day I have no idea WHY) - fun fun fun. By the time you got back - 90% of the entire morning was lost.

At my DCs school they go swimming once a fortnight and we pay about £2.50, I can't remember exactly as its paid up front.

The nearest pool isn't within easy walking distance so the cost includes transport.

It is part of the National Curriculam that children are able to do a certain set list of swimming related things by the end of KS2 so you have been misinformed about that.

My own DCs don't get any benefit from it as they can already swim to the standard that is taught at the school lesson and if it was up to me they wouldn't go but that isn't an option.

I really don't know whether it is of any benefit to children who have no other way of learning to swim and whose parents never take them - I guess it possibly is but its a huge sledgehammer for that particular nut.

They do have to go by coach. I was told that the school don't pay for anything and I assumed this meant that the parents' contributions pay for the pool/lessons too, but maybe it works differently.

I can see why they do it if the lessons are paid for by the council. I suspect maybe they are and that I have got the wrong end of the stick.

Just seems an almighty waste of time and money to me, when some of the kids could do with extra reading/writing/maths lessons.

Ah samcrow, I thought it was part of the NC. Odd - the person who said it wasn't compulsory was someone who I'd have thought knew what she was talking about. Obviously not

That makes me feel better though. I don't mind them doing something useless that I have to cough up for if they HAVE to do it by law!

TCLT - I'd say that probably the school does have to pay for the pool and instructors as well as the coach. I'm pretty sure that the pool will charge even if its a council run one.

its a waste of time for most kids. My kids' school have their own 12m pool, so we dont haveto pay for lessons. The kids are taught by their classroom teacher who knows as much as I do (actually probably less) about swimming. 1 teacher, 30 kids. 10 of those non swimmers.

The non swimmers are taught by me....a parent helper. The teacher does those that can already swim. But get this...I am not allowed to go in the pool with the non swimmers. So they have an assortment of belts, woggles and floats, and at least 2 of them have gone under and near enough drowned.

I think all non swimmers should be taught by a qualified teacher, in a seperate session. But no, they're all in together.

My son is a county standard swimmer. He gets to do widths (maybe 5 metres?) with the rest of the class, and they wonder why he and other top of the pool swimmers misbehave.

Its a nightmare.

My DC hate the school lessons, having learnt to swim already. They complain about being taught different techniques, and treated like beginners.

Although I don't like the idea of them being given conflicting swimming instruction, I view it positivelt that they are getting an hours physical activity, which schools don't seem to do enough of.

I keep meaning to ask why they don't let the competent swimmers just swim lenghts to build up stamina, an then the instructor could focus on the children who have not had private lessons.

Ours is £22 per half term, once a year from Yr 3. So - £88 per DC. Their 1-1 lessons cost £15 per half hour and they progressed unbelievably after just one lesson. < sigh >

Here's the National Curriculum guidance - swimming is point 9

curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/physical-education/keystage2/index.aspx

Do you think your DCs school swimming lessons are worthwhile?

Yes - even though DS1 is now 10, I'm still wary of taking 3 non-swimmers swimming on my own, despite the pool saying that under 8's have to have 1 adults to 2 children max, so in theory could go

How often do they go?

Started in YR4 continued into YR5......don't know for how long - once a week, the entire Year group walks up.

Do they make progress?

Yes - DS1 came home last week telling me he'd swum half way across the pool

How much does it cost you?

Nothing - except for the price of the swimming hat. Have to be bought from the school, as they have different coloured hats depending on what "level" they're at (DS1 has a red one as red is the non/new swimmers). 90p (or is it £1 )

Mine do it once a week, every other half term, and it's free.

They can both swim, because they had group swimming lessons when they were younger, and before the school started swimming lessons.

They enjoy it. I think because they can already swim it builds up their stamina and gives me and excuse not to go swimming with them!

In general I think they are probably a good thing, although if your child was very anxious about the water, I'd maybe think it wasn't the best way to learn from scratch, but I don't really know. The children in my DSs class who can't swim, or are weak swimmers seem to enjoy it

Basically I believe the school's obligation is to try to get them to the stage where they're not likely to drown - so to be able to doggypaddle 25 metres by Y6 (I believe).

And yes, I've been landed with swimming groups during lessons with NO knowledge of what to be doing with them really (I used to just crib ideas from the paid instructors who'd take two of the groups and give me the remaining one).

It's a pretty crap situation.

Well blow me, samcrow !

So, theoretically, if no one took their kids swimming or to private lessons, a school could fail spectacularly as they'd have no chance of getting most DCs to swim 25m on six lessons a year.

I think DS and DD's school do swimming in year 3 but not sure how long for.

When i was at sxhool we did swimming once a week in year 5 and year 6 at the school down the road. Don't think we had to pay at all. It did teach me to swim though :)

Oh and I always come home wearing most of the swimming pool... walk up to the pool, squelch back. :D

It's funny sometimes though - used to teach one kid who couldn't stop talking, and couldn't talk and swim at the same time - so he'd go forward a couple of kicks, start chatting to his mate, sink a bit, remember to actually keep swimming, go forward some more and remember something on telly last night he needed to tell his mate about, sink a bit more... and so on.

No way my DSs school would have unqualified teachers teaching swimming

Surely there are Elf and Safety rules about that?

Our state uses swimming as an exercise slot as they have no facilities left to utilise for government weekly exercise requirement on the school campus and then they charge us.

Agree 30 kids in one pool are not going to learn anything and I have resorted to 1:1 so my DD can learn.

Also teachers not allowed to obviously help kkids dry themselves so most are coming out with wet hair - not good on winter days.