School won’t teach non-swimmers!

[Platypuslover]

I don’t think I’m unreasonable just considering how far I may need to take this. Year 6 now lost out on swimming lessons because school is useless head was suspended last year and never returned and this has been a pattern for her from previous school. Not sure why other than incompetence but the grapevine said possibly to do with money. So kids didn’t get swimming lesson as no one thought to arrange them once lock down was relaxed the pools reopened.

They waited until end of year to do 2 session to asses swimming. Told we’d get an email if she can’t swim and will have further session.

No email arrived and I called today. So then was told they don’t take non-swimmers only the children that are confident and can almost swim independently and we have to pay for our own swimming lesson.

So I am expected to pay for someone else’s kids to learn to swim with my very hard earned taxes amidst a cost of living crisis and us barely being able to afford basics and we can not afford the extortionate private lessons.

Bet the letter they said they’d send us to give details to book those lessons are with the same company they use to take them swimming now. This reeks of an extortion ring to me why else would you not take the children that need it most!

School swimming has always been a waste of time; they never get anywhere close to enough sessions to make any difference.

Sign up for council lessons.

How did you not think that swimming that should be done from earlier than school age?

Well if I and my DH was taught in school why would I assume it needed to be taught before school?

I think baby swimming and lesson at young age aren't actually needed - though can be fun if people want to pay.

I also saw my older children make much more rapid progress in council lessons than many started at 3 or 4 and thus cost me less money overall - which as money was tight was very welcome.

My DS1 council lessons are £60 for 15 lessons that's £4 a week which is cheap! His brothers private lessons are expensive but the council pools are too cold for him at 1!
Our council do free family swim sessions in the school holidays and still do!

So I am expected to pay for someone else’s kids to learn to swim with my very hard earned taxes amidst a cost of living crisis and us barely being able to afford basics and we can not afford the extortionate private lessons.

This is just ridiculous. People that don’t have children are paying for your child’s full education with their hard earned taxes

If your child doesn’t choose a certain subject come their exam years you are still going to have to pay for the teachers of those subjects through your taxes - going to complain about that too?

Ours are £45 a month and 9 miles away by car (no bus route)

It doesn't matter if private swimming lessons cost 50p or £50, if you don't go swimming yourself, don't go on holidays where swimming is relevant, and don't live somewhere you're surrounded by water, it isn't ever going to be a priority.

And as for teaching them yourselves, both DH and I are very good swimmers (and I'm from one of those primary schools where you went every week, year in year out). We took DS religiously when he was tiny and although his water confidence obviously improved, he never managed to swim until he started lessons post-Covid.

Not everyone has a spare £30+ a month for swimming lessons.
Not all parents can swim to be able to teach it.
Surely it can't come as shock to you that there are a huge number of poor people in this country who need to prioritise feeding, housing, clothing and heating their children over swimming lessons?

Our state primary only took the non swimmers to lessons after covid. Sadly not sure it actually got many of them swimming. @Platypuslover does your local leisure centre offer free lessons in the summer holidays to non swimmers? I know some do.

School age is just stupidly late to leave it. Like most skills, the younger the better. The easier pick up etc. Also, I do not care if it comes across as judgemental, people should not rely on schools to parent. Basic skills should be in place before starting school.

All these judgy comments implying OP couldn’t be bothered or is not a half decent parent!! There are loads of reasons people can’t take kids to swimming lessons. Disabilities, money, time, interruptions during pandemic, maybe it’s too hard juggling multiple kids close in age at once in the pool, maybe she has no family help to support her with this. No one is perfect.

Are you arguing that all swimming pools should be free to use for families with children?

Wow, so now the judgment has moved from being snotty about non-swimming 11 year olds to anyone who hasn’t got their children swimming confidently before they even start school?!! I’ve never met a four-year-old who could swim. I don’t doubt it’s perfectly possible but it’s certainly not the default!

You need to realise that the state will now only provide the absolute basics - the bare minimum. You want anything over and above that you pay and source it yourself. Not saying this is right but it’s how it is now. Sport / music / counselling/pastoral etc it’s on you. People need to factor this in before starting a family.

There have been times post kids when I couldn't afford the £7 at time prescription fee for asthma inhalator let alone £60 quid for lessons and the bus fare back and forth as nearest swimming pool - for one child let alone more than one.

Your council doing free lesson - well you are very lucky - friends and family live under many councils in UK and none off their do it - so it's blood rare and as such unlikely OP is under one.

We got to point were we could afford lessons - but I haven't forgotten how impossible it was at one point and how worried that left me.

I agree with this except the bit about London - london kids need to swim too! There are bodies of water to fall into, plus we go on holiday too.

And society needs to factor it in when we end up with the additional cost of these children becoming adults, who then become parents.

Yes, I realised that error too late, definitely not prodigies! I was a Maths teacher so can I be excused, though the English Department used to get very annoyed when we corrected children's spelling!

I agree with this except the bit about London - london kids need to swim too! There are bodies of water to fall into, plus we go on holiday too.

That's an important point too. Most kids go to the beach. The sea, even close into shore, is dangerous. It's as well to know how to spot rip currents, what to do (and not do) if you get caught in one, how to avoid water craft, surfers etc, and where there are lifeguards, to always swim between the flags.

Tragically, even a good level of swimming ability will not always be enough to save someone in those predicaments.

No. I am saying people need to budget for swimming lessons when thinking about how much it costs to raise a family, or pay to use swimming pools to teach them themselves, or teach their children in lakes, the sea etc or accept their children will be non swimmers. Why is it someone else's responsibility to pay?

I only went when I was in year 6 and I could already swim by then, I never had lessons but I went swimming regularly and my dad must of taught me.

I’ve never known a school to take year 2s and up swimming regularly. It’s always been just year 6, 10 sessions. No non swimmer ever learns to swim but they might gain a-little confidence in the water.

How on earth have you let your child get to 11 years old with no swimming lessons 🤦🏼‍♀️

I can’t believe that any child is a non- swimmer by Year 6 . Why have your children been taught to swim before then OP?

I can't believe that you have so little imagination that you can't come up with a few reasons by yourself.

in my case I had literally dozens of lessons(Sorry for all the wasted money Mum) but I'm dyspraxic and autistic and I just couldn't do it. Yes some with dyspraxia can learn to swim as a young child but not all. We're individuals. I still can't swim.

Yep.

My argument is that water safety and confidence rather than swimming would save more lives.

If you are actually going swimming its likely to be for leisure reasons more available to middle classes anyway.

Where it should be pushed more is for health reason - but with pools more likely to be closing in deprived areas and it having a cost thats stupid - no facilities and no money make learning almost pointless.

BUT where the OP really did my head in was with the comment about taxes and the expectation that it was the school's responsibility.

I don't think its the school's fault - I think its government. And I do think if she feels its that important, then waiting til yr6 before getting upset about it, is a parental fail. If you are going to get upset about lack of school lessons, your time to do that is yr3 not yr6.

I couldn't disagree more!! Swimming is good exercise, and it's reassuring to know my kids can swim if they ever needed to. It opens up possibilities like open sea swimming, surfing, canoeing - and as an island there's lots of opportunities to have these experiences.

I can't swim and I've always felt like I missed out - and no, I can't learn now because I have a phobia of putting my face in the water. Probably as a result of the crap school swimming lessons when the first thing they tried to make you do was put your face in the water.

@Platypuslover I literally couldn't be arsed to get antsy over this. Yes, I agree, it's stupid on the part of the school. The school lessons are a waste of time. They don't get enough to even gain their confidence in the water - unless they can already swim, which all three of mine could.

I spent 9 years of my life sitting weekly in that overheated leisure centre which I abso-fucking-lutely hated, and must have spent thousands to ensure they all became competent swimmers. It was that important to me.

My DD's primary school only gave them one term of lessons in Year 5. By then, most kids had already had private swimming lessons and could swim. Anyone who couldn't swim, still couldn't swim. I paid for lessons for DD from 5yo,

A lot of people had their kids in lessons from birth practically.

When I went to primary back in the 80's we went swimming practically weekly at one point, plus had a very tiny pool in the playground, and I had gained my 2000m and bronze life saving award by the time we left primary school.

Times have changed a lot.