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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cost of school swimming lessons

128 replies

Coffeeandtats · 17/03/2022 18:01

My son is in year 4 and attends a mainstream school which is part of a multi academy trust

They’re due to start swimming lessons after Easter and the letter which came home said the cost of this, including the instructor and transport to and from the venue, for the 9 weeks of lessons will be £62

As I understood it, because swimming is part of the national curriculum, they can’t make you pay for the lessons, but they can ask for a voluntary contribution from parents

AIBU to think £62 is absolutely taking the piss?

OP posts:
Fabtasticfanatic · 17/03/2022 18:05

We paid about £30 for the coach. Better than asking all the parents to go and ferry the kids themselves which is what they are still dong for school sports events.

Duracellbunnywannabe · 17/03/2022 18:06

Does that include transport to and from the pool? If yes then that’s not excessive.

Harridan1981 · 17/03/2022 18:07

It seems a lot to me. We are not paying anything. A contribution to bus seems ok

Okayokayokayokay · 17/03/2022 18:08

Yabu.

cigarettesNalcohol · 17/03/2022 18:10

Doesn't seem unreasonable. Swimming is an important life skill that is not up for debating. If you went to private lessons outside of school it would cost you a LOT more.

cigarettesNalcohol · 17/03/2022 18:11

To add, £62 for 9 weeks of learning to swim ? I'd jump at that. Seems very good to me.

exLtEveDallas · 17/03/2022 18:11

How many kids and how far do they have to travel? Our kids have to travel a huge 4.5 miles to the swimming pool and the cheapest coach company wants £125 per journey.

Relentlessrose · 17/03/2022 18:11

My DC school was nearly the same as their private lessons. I was Shock

mogsrus · 17/03/2022 18:12

Works out about 6£ a time. not outrageous is it, taking into account the price of fuel to get to the destination, & rising by the hour,so that will be locked into the price plus insurance & everything else, personally I really don’t think that’s bad at all, bet the pool is heated by gas as well

NobbyButtons · 17/03/2022 18:12

Our school swimming lessons in Year 4 were completely free. We weren't even asked for a voluntary contribution.

AHungryCaterpillar · 17/03/2022 18:13

At least they are doing them, my kids school haven’t done them again since the pandemic meaning my son didn’t get to do them so going to have to pay for private 😒

gogohm · 17/03/2022 18:15

I paid £1 a week voluntary contribution, admittedly 10 years ago but that's still no where near these prices

KatherineofGaunt · 17/03/2022 18:15

Unfortunately, many schools don't have much budget left after staffing and building, even if swimming is on the curriculum. Some parents will pay and they can recoup some of the money which will help. I wouldn't call it taking the piss.

Thewindwhispers · 17/03/2022 18:16

My village state school gets given use of the pool and the transport coach free but they still make parents pay for the cost of the swimming teacher. You don’t pay you don’t swim.

And yet there is money for all sorts of other silly stuff. I don’t get why this doesn’t come out of the school budget.

Yanbu, it should be paid for by the school.

shoofly · 17/03/2022 18:19

My kids primary school always asked for a contribution to cover transport to and from the pool. DS1 had lessons in year 5, 6 and 7
DS2 was in year 5 when covid started and is now in year 7 and finishes in June. They've missed out on school swimming completely. Sad

QuietKingdom · 17/03/2022 18:19

It's completely free at my DD's school, I thought it had to be as it's part of the national curriculum.

Hwory · 17/03/2022 18:20

Sure it's a voluntary but if the schools budget doesn't cover it and not enough parents contribute then it'll be cancelled. Up to you if you don't want to pay £6.80 a lesson.

AndSoFinally · 17/03/2022 18:24

Ours was free.

Don't be under any illusions that these lessons will actually teach your child to swim, though, for the pp that said that. You'll still need private lessons or to teach them yourself.

toomuchlaundry · 17/03/2022 18:26

It will be for the coach. Are you volunteering to drive instead?

Doveyouknow · 17/03/2022 18:33

Ours were free (though the kids used public transport) and my son's swimming did improve quite a bit. I assume most schools would need money towards transport but £6 per lesson sounds more than I would expect. Nine lessons is unlikely to be enough to teach someone to swim so I imagine you will need to shell out for lessons as well

CleanHankie · 17/03/2022 18:33

I work in a school and we were shocked at how much the coach cost had gone up since COVID. Organised ours last term so it’s prob more now fuel has rocketed. Also didn’t help that our local pool couldn’t tell us the exact cost of lessons as they’d be an annual increase starting the month lessons started. Ended up charging £70 per child for 10 lessons and it doesn’t cover the total in the end. Yes it’s part of the curriculum but no school funding doesn’t cover it, not even the Sports Premium money.
It sucks and we hate asking for it

SewingWarriorQueen76 · 17/03/2022 18:36

Private lessons are easily £10 each plus driving there and sitting outside every Friday night. It's a bargain

OutlookStalking · 17/03/2022 18:40

Really? Our leisure centre worked out about 5-6 £ a week. Remenber with school swimming its around 15 kids to a teacher too! The leisure centre ones would be cheaper and better ratio...

Im not sure much gets achieved in 9 schoool lessons. Id be tempted not to do it. l

Original poster
Coffeeandtats · 17/03/2022 18:40

Hmm mixed responses!
I fully appreciate the budget constraints on schools, I’m treasurer for our pta and can see that school funding is absolutely pitiful, I think it just really grates when as pp have said, he won’t even be able to swim at the end of it!

Seems to be a never ending money tree when it comes to employing people higher up the trust though, the school is being run more and more like some kind of corporate entity and the kids and teachers come bottom of the pile with parents picking up the tab!

OP posts:
ChoiceMummy · 17/03/2022 18:40

@cigarettesNalcohol

Doesn't seem unreasonable. Swimming is an important life skill that is not up for debating. If you went to private lessons outside of school it would cost you a LOT more.
That is true, but this is a legal requirement that the school should provide opportunity to, exactly the same as maths or English, even if you'd pay more for a maths tutor!