To not want to pay for school swimming lessons?

[Ialwayswannasometimes]

I don't really care if ds goes or not, he certainly doesn't learn to swim through school lessons they have about 5-10 minutes in the water and he has sen so with the ratios there's just no way it's beneficial to him.
its £60 a term
It's part of the curriculum I know so they do still take them if you can't pay which does make me feel somewhat guilty but tbh I'd be happy for him not to go but that's not given as an option.
I already pay white a lot of money a month for his actual out of school swimming lessons because he can't attend the cheaper council run ones as he needs a smaller class size, I can't really afford an extra £60 for him to not even be learning much.

If you can't afford £60, then you can't afford it. As you say, they have to take the class swimming, so if nobody pays, then the school will have to fill the hole that is created by taking money from other budgets.

Are you able to just offer what you can, if you can't afford the full £60? If that's nothing, then fair enough.

If he needs a smaller class then the school lessons won’t help him at all. It’s not your job to balance the school budget or support others going when you already have to pay for smaller lessons yourself out of your own pocket. Yes it’s a bad situation for the school, but it’s not a situation of your creation and you aren’t responsible for it.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl Schools will be lucky to make it out of the financial year in the black owing to increased utilities etc. I’m not sure where you think they will magic money from to plug the hole. No money will inevitably mean a reduction in TA’s in the classroom.

I know schools are really struggling budget wise as they just don't have the funding which is why I feel bad but on the other hand I just don't have the money to pay for something that I don't want or need my son to do

£60 either way isn’t fixing the massive fuck off problem with budgets. In a two form entry primary you’d need about £60 off every single pupil in the school to pay a for a single TA salary with on costs. One TA. Let alone the teachers they can’t afford, an out of class senco. It’s a drop in the ocean with the scale of the issue, no need to be a martyr

Assuming a class of 30, if no-one paid anything, that's £1,800 which, yes is a significant dent in the school budget- but it's not going to make the difference between them hiring a TA or not.

It'll more likely mean other educational trips etc, which OP's DS might benefit from won't go ahead, etc.

Can you discuss with them that due to his additional needs you'd like to withdraw him from swimming? It might be an option.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl i didn’t say that by not paying for swimming lessons a TA would be lost. I mentioned utilities as one reason schools would suffer funding issues and in turn the possible loss of TA’s. My DD’s school have put up posters asking the kids to shut the doors as the electricity bill has increased by nearly £150, 000 a year. That’s definitely a TA or two.

To be fair, they tried their very best to exclude him from going in the last school trip they had (for no reason other than sen) after we'd already paid for it and with less than a weeks notice so looking at it like that I don't feel too bad

I genuinely didn't know schools charge for this. My daughter had it for free last year no donation was asked for or requested!

They cannot ask for a donation towards swimming lessons as it's part of the curriculum.

HOWEVER, coach hire costs are astronomical and hugely prohibitive.

That said, it's an entirely optional contribution. I wouldn't pay op. Especially (I assume your child has a SEND diagnosis) as they are likely attracting financial support for your dc due to their additional needs - this is EXACTLY what the money should be paying towards. Are you in receipt of any benefits that would attract pupil premium?

I'm a school swimming teacher they should not be charging you for school swimming, unless it's the travel but even then it should be optional contribution as its part of the curriculum. What type sen does he have op? You might be surprised how well he actually does especially if he's already having lessons. He certainly wouldn't be in the water for 10-15 min max as our sessions are 45 minutes. That would only be the case for our safety introduction day and assessment. I'm such an advocate for swimming my own son has sen and you'd be surprised how much kids with sen can get out of these sessions.

I really don't understand the point of school swimming lessons. The kids spend hardly any time in the water and don't learn much. Make much more sense to offer kids this out of school so you could do a crash course i.e. every morning for a week or two in the holidays. Or you can have a term of after school lessons.

The local council already does a good job of providing these. We did a weeks crash course in the October holidays for £23 per person and it really brought my 7yos on.

A lot of parents will keep lessons going once started so overall they will make more money overall.

My school does swimming in P5 but are keen not to make all the children do it as they can use a council minibus if they have less than 12. If you've passed level 1 under new system used to be 3 on old system they suggest you don't do it.

bloodyeverlastinghell

I find your comment interesting, have you witness these lessons being carried out? Alot of parents haven't any idea what happens in school swimming. We run 45 minutes lessons. 30 minutes of swimming and 10-15 minutes of a game, sometimes a full 45 minutes of swimming, theres no kids sat on the side doing nothing, we do constant swimming. Its the equivalent of a parent saying they know what happens in a school day when they have no idea. We also educate kids of the importance of water safety. It's on the curriculum rightly so because it's a life skill. Schools have access to a sports fund in order to fund swimming lessons.

Schools get the money for lessons. They ask parents to pay which then just goes back into their budget! You don't have to pay it.

I did volunteer as a parent helper with my eldest child’s class 30minute lesson 15 minutes getting changed either side. 35 minutes drive from school to pool, rural it is what it is. It took up the whole morning for a fairly short lesson. I think there must be a more efficient way.

bloodyeverlastinghell that's on the school for not managing travel time not the swimming lesson provider.It also shouldn't take 15 minutes to get changed 5 max.

I’d be super impressed if my kids got dry and dressed in five minutes after the pool. It definitely takes longer even when we go for a family swim. Lots of schools aren’t close to pools, you can’t “manage” travel time shorter. They get on a minibus it takes them straight there.

Im not trying to be negative about the swimming lesson provider. My kids do lessons at the same provider but weekly lessons over a term are slow progress unless you swim in between.

I think offering a funded term or crash course in the holidays would possibly be a better option to save losing so much teaching time.

How can a school manage travel time?! There are many rural parts of the UK, particularly Scotland, where there is only one pool within 20 miles+ drive.

That's a ridiculous amount for school swimming. Our school only ask for a £5 voluntary donation for the bus(leisure centre 1 mile away). Don't feel guilty for not paying it if you don't think its worth it. I'd not pay that amount either. The leisure centre here do after school lessons for less than £30 a month. So I can't imagine any parents paying that much tbh.