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!

quite

It's meant well, but the school lessons are a waste of time. They should have them every year from reception to see at least some improvement.

YAB a bit U.

It is possible for schools to teach children the basics of how to swim. At my children's state primary they get a total of five term's swimming lessons (about 50 half hour lessons), and by Year 5 virtually all of them can at least swim 20 metres. The school do have a responsibility to provide lessons to complete non-swimmers as for some children, it is the only time they ever get to go in a pool.

However, given that your school hasn't done this, YABU not to have found your child some alternative lessons at some point before age 11. Group lessons at council pools are pretty cheap, and should be affordable to most families, if swimming is made a priority.

I always looked on it as being our job to teach them to swim, like crossing the road, using a knife and fork etc., there's only so much that be palmed off onto others.

Covid caused a backlog for new swimmers, but those kids already enrolled were just invited back when the pool reopened.

My DH is a Policeman, and he has been shouted at many times by people saying "I pay your wages". Mostly by people who are on the dole. The irony.

Seems to me they should prioritise the non-swimmers if they have to prioritise someone. My son is P6 (Scotland) and they've just had their first ever lot of school 4 swimming lessons. The class ranges from complete non-swimmers who had to borrow a swimming costume to those who swim several hundred lengths every week in club sessions and race at galas etc. Everyone got the chance to go to school swimming lessons. Some of the non-swimmers opted out (or parents didn't consent) but a couple of them actually learned to swim a bit during these 4 lessons. Nobody was ridiculed for not being able to swim and the club swimmers were really happy for those who just learned, they came out of school buzzing about it!

I can guarantee that none of those in the class who can swim learned in school lessons! They learned because their parents budgeted for it, and took them, to lessons or taught them themselves. Your hard earned taxes have not taught them to swim! At our school, if you can't swim 20m you have to go for half a term, but it is pointless for the reasons others have given.

I don't understand the outrage at the school?

I can't swim (I can chill in the pool on holiday, fanny around a bit and make my way from one end of the pool to the other, but I could very easily get in trouble, and would never take my DCs swimming alone)

I had the usual lessons at school, but as they were my only lessons they didn't really do any good.

I'm not angry with anyone about it. My parents could not afford lessons, and then once my mum was a single mother to 4, there was no spare cash for popping to the local leisure centre.

If there's a ratio or funding issue for the school, it absolutely makes sense for them to try and improve people that are almost there, rather than use the resource on someone who isn't going to gain anything from it in the long run.

Gosh, it’s so easy to be horrified by someone else’s child not being able to do something that yours either took to easily or that it was logistically straightforward for you to arrange.

Mine are Yr 6 and Yr 5 and only just swimming relatively confidently in the past year. They’ve had years of swimming lessons, initially in a small group and then just the two of them when it was clear they spending most of the time waiting for other people. It was a nightmare to find lessons that worked for us as I don’t drive, there’s no pool local to us accessible by public transport, and DH works weekends. It was also heavily interrupted by Covid, but we made it happen as much as we could. We take them ourselves when we can (tricky to fit in for the same reasons) and have made intensive practice with us a focus of summer holidays. It’s taken FOREVER for either of them to be remotely competent in the water. Some people just find it a much harder skill to master than others. I couldn’t swim till I was 10, and I was at a private school with its own pool plus intensive remedial lessons! I was fine once I’d cracked it.

I’m not saying people should leave it up to school, but the shocked cries of “what do you mean she can’t swim in Yr 6” are unnecessarily judgmental.

Incidentally, DS in Yr 6 is currently getting two weekly lessons through the school - one for the whole class, and one for a small group identified as needing extra practice/support. Not sure how they’ve budgeted for it, but it’s great. So not surprised you’re cross at them offering your DD nothing, OP.

Teachers also get that rubbish, from both revolting parents and their equally obnoxious prodigy, I had a well developed look. eyebrows raised and eye roll, mentally saying And who provides your free ciggy money?

It's not brilliant that the school doesn't arrange swimming lessons for non swimmers.
I agree with other posters with the idea of getting private lessons. There are good small group lessons either at the local pool or through a swimming business. It's important for them to learn to swim and, unfortunately, it may mean paying out to ensure this is sorted.

My kids learned to swim by observing others and being in the pool with me. My eldest hated lessons and has hypermobility syndrome so not a natural swimmer. He learned by watching his friends. My youngest has autism, severe dyspraxia and auditory processing disorder so being instructed on a physical skill was always going to be challenging. She learned by watching me and having me help her in the pool until she floated independently. Lessons only go so far, and it is the responsibility of every parent to ensure their kids have a basic set of life skills. This is stuff like swimming, crossing the road safely, knowing a bit of the Highway code and a bit of first aid. It costs next to nothing to get kids to a local pool and teach them the basics of swimming even if you are not the greatest swimmer yourself. If I can do it with one disabled arm and hand, anyone can. I got expelled from swimming class at 7 as I told the coach where he could stick his floats. He was a control freak and I was a stroppy kid. I then learned out of stubborn determination and did this by splashing about in the water until I floated. Watching other people swim in helpful to some trying to figure out the right positions to keep going.

I’d be taking this up the complaints procedure. The school is failing to offer lessons to non swimmers in favour of swimmers, which seems like a strange choice.

I can only imagine this policy is for the benefit of the school. Ie It is better for them to have x number of students able to do over 25m than registering none able to do it, which could potentially be the case if they haven’t been able to register the ones, who can.

I had no idea how much our local leisure centre is, so I've just checked. You'd have to go to the "Family Fun" sessions as lane swimming isn't allowed for children, and you don't get a free child's place. One adult + one Junior = £12.20!

Our next two closest public pools are £13.50 or £10.10 (the cheaper one is a small 15m pool, compared to the main leisure centre that has 2 x 25m pools and the most expensive which is a 33m outdoor pool).

I think the OP is getting a bit too much grief in terms of why her DC can't swim already. Maybe she can't swim herself? Or money is just too tight to be able to take family swimming trips at the weekend.

Clearly it's a National Curriculum requirement and obviously the school have been very shit. Covid delayed everything and if the school have since been saying "we're on it - please wait" you do kind of assume they'll sort it out.

To now prioritise the kids that can already swim is awful. It makes it sound like they're just being taken for a splashabout session, not lessons to make them meet the requirements of the National Curricum, because it's easier that way.

OP needs to lodge a complaint about this to the current Head and the Governors. If not for her own benefit, but for the benefit of younger pupils.

The school have definitely failed OP's DC, but unfortunately it's now going to fall on her to plug the gaps. Look for local pools and find the cheapest around. Many might do some sort of deals over the summer holidays so, if you can, take the DC to that and teach them some basics (You Tube would be good for pointers on this). As and when and if money allows you can get official lessons later.

Teach your own kids to swim for heaven’s sake - basic skill which is required

How old is your child? Are you saying your y6 child, so age 10/11 can't swim? How is that possible, don't you ever take your children yourself? Our children learned to swim with us they have just done the paid lessons outside of school as a hobby/to advance their swimming. It's pretty poor parenting if you think learning to swim is school's responsibility. It's cheap as chips to go to the local council pool, coats us around £10 for a family of 5.

I can’t swim.
I couldn’t afford the council swimming lessons (closest are a 9 mile drive)

thankfully the mine got taught at school and they did come away from the school lessons being able to swim.

But why should the already struggling and underfunded schools then be responsible? Especially when the entitled parent is shouting about their taxes paying for it.

Of course not everyone can afford lessons, or regular swimming pool trips but that's not free for the school either.

Fwiw £35 is a lot. My dc have lessons at £50 per 10 week block, so £5 a lesson. It's not massively cheap but £5 a week is manageable for most. Fully expect dd to be utterly bored at school lessons when they start because she will be a lot more advanced than most by then but I won't be kicking off that they aren't catering to her and my taxes are paying for it.

I’m going to put this in bold as it seems important

how can you teach your child to swim if you can’t swim yourself?

Our school, all of year 5 got to go swimming for 2 terms and then if children still couldn't swim then they found money from the PE budget for those children to go again in year 6.

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.

Actually MY hard earned taxes are paying to educate your child. Completely

My DH is a special and gets this a lot (even more ironic that he does it for free) yes usually it’s some tosser who doesn’t work, drunk 24/7 with neglected kids no one in social services will actively intervene with.

My kids could swim by the time they got their school lessons. No one in the non swimming group could swim by the end of the six lessons. It's a waste of time.

I saw the same but many no swimming pupils parenst did then try and book some council lessons.

DD1 was y6 when we moved here -she'd had a few terms with previous council lessons which weren't very good and put her off - term with a lesson a week with school - and couldn't really swim. She did council lessons here as soon as we moved start of y 6 - one of the oldest children but we also did school holiday accelerator lessons - by summer term she could swim and was one of the better swimmers - she kept it up for another year or so getting to stage 5 and then got frustated and stopped.

So I'd look at council lessons as even if they got school lessons it likely won't be enough to get swimming.

Just checked how much my local council swimming pool is
To see if it’s any cheaper now.
it’s £45 a month for weekly child swimming lessons.

🙄 You don't think you will benefit from those children having had a decent education? When, as adults, they are providing all the services you - and the whole of society - rely on?