1 out of 4 children can’t swim when going into year 7.

[Quiethelper]

As the title says really. I was shocked to read over 1 out 4 children can’t swim 25m when going into year 7.

Secondary schools in our area don’t do lessons. Surly this needs to be addressed for the ones who couldn’t save themselves if they fell into water.

I would fully support and be happy for budget to be allocated for children to have essential swimming skills.

I feel really sad about this statistic.

I was talking about this very issue the other day as 2 younger adults I know told me that they altered trying to learn now, hadn't done it at school, had no pool nearby as children. I think it illustrates the demise of public services and health really. As kids we often went on our own once we could swim, kept is fit and it was a social thing. I agree that most swimmer would struggle jn.an open water crisis but at least if you can swing. You can enjoy swimming on holiday and things like that.

How can a parent teach their child how to swim if they are unable to swim themselves? Or if they are a single parent to 2 children and their local leisure centre requires 1:1 with non swimmers and under 8's? That's also if they still have a local leisure centre as many closed during covid and many aren't affordable if they didn't close.

Not all children go on holiday.

And whether or not the child is disabled. Or the parent is disabled. Or whether the parent is a single parent with no time and isn’t allowed 3 kids in the pool with them.

Go on a different type of holiday?

My parents couldn't swim. We went on holiday every year, just not beach resport/pool holidays.

But the relay race can be taught on site, as a whole class, by their class teacher, for free, within the timings of a typical PE lesson. It’s not remotely comparable to the cost, time or extra adults involved in taking a class for swimming lessons.

I haven't read every comment on this thread but I'm surprised it's so high and not lower/ less able to swim. We prioritise swimming lessons for our kids. It's £300 for both for 10 lessons @ 30mins so £15 a lesson they are by a private firm and not council led. They've been going since 4 months. It's a life skill that ultimately if you think it is necessary you do all you can. Yes it's a big chunk of our money but at 2.5yr old my little girl was absolutely able to save herself. Doesn't mean I'd let her get in a pool alone. Or encourage river swimming. The lessons in the pool are irrelevant, it's water safety children should be taught, respect the water should be our objective. Just because you can swim in a pool doesn't mean you can swim in the sea. Totally different ball game.
You don't learn that from lessons you learn that from being told.

@Unpaidviewer All 4 of us can swim. Please read to comprehend not to just post an argument. I mentioned that we are all swimmers.

Yep.

My child is physically disabled and if he was to learn how to swim (we have no idea if it's possible), he'd need specialist 1-1 (expensive) swimming lessons which again, is often unaffordable.

I think this may be a representation of uk racial demographics.

The majority of SE Asian and black children cannot swim and some areas have policy to target this like Leicestershire

It's 14% of white children cannot swim.

Neither of my parents could swim so they prioritised us having lessons as children, I am the only one of my siblings who enjoyed it, the others stopped lessons as soon as they had reached 50m.
At primary school we had a little pool that we practiced in, which most primary schools don’t have now.
My DH is a strong swimmer and used to swim competitively as a child/teen. We paid for our children to have lessons, after placing them on a waiting list for ages. One stopped as soon as he had reached 50m as he hated it, the other stopped once the teacher said he had learnt everything they could teach him and the next step was competitive squad swimming and the youngest is having 1:1 lessons as he just wasn’t ’getting it’s in a small group.
At the primary school mine went to they did swimming in a block of 6 weeks, once a week. Most of the children could swim already in the cohort my children were in, which I was quite surprised about. Apparently there were about 8 out of 60 that couldn’t swim at all and then a middle group and then a group of strong swimmers. Not sending them is never an option, which is slightly crazy when some of the children are such strong swimmers because I think the resources should be spent on extra time/lessons for the ones that can’t swim.

I’m sorry but that’s an exaggeration. Everything shutdown in March but by August some swimming lessons started again. Yes it might have taken longer for council pools I’m not sure but it wasn’t years later as you have said.

This

So if 14% of white children cannot swim and they represent 80% of the population, that must mean that near enough 70% of children who are not white cannot swim. Is that right?

So you all fell into a current in a river from canoes as swimmers and all presumably survived. Great.

How is that relevant to someone who can’t swim and why they’d be in a current? Why would a non swimmer get in a canoe?Surely if you can’t swim you accept you can’t participate in river based sports?!

If a non swimmer accidentally ends up in a strong river current because they were stupid enough to get in a canoe then I think we just chalk that up to idiocy rather than being something schools need to equip them for.

Another one here who can’t swim. I found swimming lessons deadly dull as a child and the thought of doing them now even duller.

Have somehow managed to survive by, for example, not going canoeing.

I go to the beach and paddle occasionally but it’s not my favourite type of place tbh. I prefer walking holidays, and I suppose I could fall off the edge of a cliff doing that - but nobody would suggest I must learn rock climbing as a vital life skill.

I do agree with you, but for a person to be able to be able to do lifesaving skills (treading water, raising a hand, shouting etc) they need to be able to swim to a decent level and have some water confidence first (I say this as a former swimming teacher and open water lifeguard). My own children have been in the water since weeks old and are confident swimmers who are now learning lifesaving, but I enjoy swimming (and can see past the horrors of the local pool’s changing rooms!). We are by open water often though and to me it is so important that the know how to be safe.

I wish it was something that was funded by local authorities as I think it’s a very useful life skill, but, things being as they are, I do think the onus falls to parents and, like anything, some people deem it important but to others it just isn’t.

I think water safety should definitely be taught in schools, theory as well as practical, so about things like tides and rip currents, not diving where it’s unsafe etc.

My point was that accidents happen, in response to PP who said “why would you be in a current”.

My sister was able to take her children to swimming lessons from babies because she was a SAHM.

Not denying money ia needed, but for time it comes down to priorities, you do not need a sahm for this. DH and i have always worked, our DC can swim well because we gave up our weekends/free time to take them to lessons as well as swimming as a family.

Yeah, but if you stay off water they’re pretty unlikely.

What is wrong with you? I know you can swim, there's nothing wrong with my reading comprehension. Thank you.

AnnaMagnani asked why would someone be in a current if they couldn't swim. Your story didnt answer their question and you accused them of being obtuse.

It's a parental responsibility, not the state's. Along with good manners, driving, cooking, etc.

The main reason for drownings is not the inability to swim, it's panicking.

You don't need to know how to swim to avoid draining, in most circumstances, you need to know how to float on your back and not let panic take over.

In my experience, swimming lessons are extremely ineffective, likely because they spend most of their time sitting on the side waiting their turn to do a lap.

When I was a kid (not from the UK) I went to a swimming school for 2 weeks in the summer, 30 mins a day in a lake taught by a 15 year old girl. By the end of the 2 weeks I could swim 10 meters or so. My sisters, similar story. DS on the other hand spent 2 years in weekly lessons mostly sitting by the side. 1 year in he could swim on his back. Another year and basically nothing had changed so we pulled him out to teach him ourselves. They don’t learn a whole lot sitting on the side of the pool and actually swimming for 5 minutes a week or so.

All children get one term of swimming lessons at school in Year 3 or Year 4.

You're being overly dramatic about this. I can swim but I have never needed to for any kind of life saving purpose and it's highly unlikely I ever will.