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 sort of did this.

I did ducklings as a child in a children’s pool and my parents taught us the basics.

Then one summer I had daily swimming lessons at around 8 or 9 with a professional coach for 4 weeks I don’t recall. That was sufficient to get me good technique for all strokes and proficient and confident in the water.

But you do then need to follow that up with time in the water to practice and experience.

It was a long time ago, I concede, but my Dad took me to the local pool every Sunday and taught me to swim. I did the same with my girls. Why is it always someone's elses responsibility to teach kids life skills these days?? My Dad taught himself in a river on his farm!! Ah, the good old days, no health and safety there. Joking, but honestly.......

I bet most of these families go away for holidays by the sea, and with pools as well. It's bad parenting.

Oh yes the lessons times! That’s another issue. Where we are, you’re looking at 4:30, 5:00, or 5:30 starts. We’re lucky, we wfh and are specifically allowed to flex our hours so we do a 5:00 lesson and alternate who takes them. But friends of ours who work out of the house or who aren’t allowed to flex hours can’t make those times. And then the two Saturday morning slots are like gold dust. You’re on the waiting list forever.
I mean, obviously enough people go during the week that it’s worth them running the lessons so I don’t think they should stop, but there are a lot of people who can’t and then can’t get in a weekend lesson. That doesn’t make them feckless parents.

I prioritised swimming lessons but it was expensive not to mention a hassle when kids were in different classes, one starting half an hour after the other finished, and trying to work out dinner around that.

In school each class got half a term of lessons in year 4 and again in year 5 if they hadn't managed to swim the 25m or whatever the cut off was, and my son's class ended up missing about 3 of these for various reasons. With no opportunity to practise, I'm not surprised 25% can't swim and I agree with the PP who said the surprise is more that 75% can.

Swimming is really expensive. We have to pay £30 a month base fee, and then £8 per lesson. Many people don’t have around £60 a month per child for 3+ years!
I would also say not being able to swim at all is probably safer than being g able to swim a little (a length). People who know they can’t swim are much less likely to overestimate their abilities and drown

It's not though. The biggest risk of drowning for teens and young adults is overconfidence in their swimming ability. People who think they can swim better than they can, which is a huge problem with boys and young men. I consider myself a non-swimmer even though I can swim a few lengths of front crawl, breast stroke, backstroke and head up breaststroke. As well as dive, tumble, tread water, swim underwater, etc. Because I'm not a happy, comfortable swimmer when doing lengths. I'd never put myself at risk in open water. But a 15 year old boy who can swim like I can will see he's better than many of his peers and is more likely to get overconfident. Then either show off or put himself in a situation where he tries to keep up with a stronger swimmer and get in trouble.

My son is a decent but not super swimmer. He's better than me but not amazing. We surf and live near a large strong river with multiple swimming spots. I often worry about him getting cocky when he's older as he's more at risk of his own hubris than he is of never knowing how to swim.

We actually have that now. It’s really normal. They run lots of kids only disco sessions, fun floats / giant inflatable sessions drop them off from age 8. Pick up at the end sadly no chips but you can get a ham and cheese panini for £2 if the cafe is open.

You can still drop of kids at swimming in some places...our town does a monthly inflatables session in the council pool. Over 8s who can swim can do it by themselves (and lots of parents wait in the viewing area). I also have DS2 (5) so get to go play on the inflatables with him.

You seem lucky to have particularly cheap swimming. Our leisure centre has half hour lessons for £32.50 per month, which are variable in quality depending on the teacher you get. They do get free public swimming too, but an adult swim to go with them is £6, plus £4 per child if you have others not in lessons. A standard gym membership is over £40.

Yes, I'm from the Lakes originally, and to my eye it's stories of poor swimmers overestimating themselves or kids mucking around that die.

I'd probably say do it properly - with lots of safety swimming advice - or not at all.

I’d add these sessions are heavily lifeguarded in comparison to normal swims never heard of an issue.

I had one who wasn’t allowed to swim due to ear issues.

I didn’t take the others because it wouldn’t have been fair and they learnt at school in KS2.

The one who can’t swim (and now wears hearing aids) seems to be doing fine in life without this essential skill, and just as well as their siblings.

I can easily swim 8-10 lengths of the pool. I was taught by my dad as a kid and went swimming all the time when I was young. I'm not a great swimmer however. My stroke isn't great. I only swam in swimming pools growing up so I do not fancy my chances on a surf beach. I can't spot a riptide. I do not believe I can swim with clothes on if I fall into a canal or a river. Therefore I do not believe the ability to swim 25m in a pool is a life saving skill. If you can't swim in a pool, you don't go near them. Equally, because I know I won't be able to save myself if I fell into a river, I do not take risk around it.

I think the national curriculum should get rid of the useless school swimming lessons. I have two children who did one term of swimming. No one learns anything.

You ask why you would be in a current if you can’t swim, and then immediately give an example of your own husband going in the sea unable to swim? So, you know that people, including the man you married, DO put themselves in such situations?

I’m not surprised. Where we live council lessons are seriously oversubscribed so huge waiting lists and you have to pay for the first few lessons upfront which many can’t afford. Private lessons are extortionate. They learn for a short while in primary school but this was disrupted for lockdown kids so many of them won’t have had those lessons either.

I know lots of adults who are unable to swim. To be honest, I can swim but very weakly. I wouldn’t trust myself over a long period of time so avoid the deep end.

They do get lessons in primary school it's part of the curriculum. My son had them in year 2. School I work at do lessons in year 5. My kids both did lessons from aged 3, we live by the sea it was not optional. Swimming is a lovely activity in general. What do these kids do on holiday? Lessons are fairly cheap at local swimming centres you don't need to pay the earth. I guess some parents just don't see it as a priority.

I think areas will change as well. Round here swimming lessons in the local pool used to be £5 a week. Most kids went.
The pool also opened in the summer holidays to the kids for free. So all the kids went to the pool. Many (maybe even most) went two/three times a week for the summer. Then the last few years before Covid that was increased to include Easter and October holidays so kids were always swimming.

We now have lost that pool. We have a shiny new "fun pool". It is brilliant. Wave machines and rapids and slides. I took 3 of mine a few weeks ago and I was £58. You don't even get your £1 back from the locker. There are no free swims for kids in the holidays.
You can't teach little ones to swim during the week when your bigger kids are at school because it's not open - it's only open Fridays 4-8, Saturdays and Sundays.

The only place offering lessons now is a in a hotel pool and it's £80 a month.

I find this sad but not surprising sadly.My DS learned to swim in his Church School pool .This was not free but subsidised .And parents who couldnt afford to pay were allowed to attend free of charge .Cost of living is high currently and so these extras are shelved .Interestingly on the BBC programme showing the work of the RNLI .more people who can swim reasonably, are more at risk of drowning ,as they over estimate their abilities and get in bother whereas non swimmers dont enter the water .

No. I had a disabled child who already missed out on a lot and I didn’t want to leave him out even more. Surely you can understand that?

I don't swim and it is been about 40 years since I was in year 7.

I think some people here totally overestimate the ability of their children swimming if they have learned it from school. Unless it's a private school with its own pool, how many hours did you they do? Is it a sea or river condition with cold water?

Both my primary and secondary school had a swimming pool. I went swimming all the time when young and school has swimming in PE lessons. I still don't think I swim well. The girls who can really swim at school were a lot faster than me. You can tell who has proper swimming lessons. Then there is the part about being in the sea. It's so different from the pool. DH grew up near a surf beach. He is just so much better than me with watching sea conditions. Even he has a story about being rescued as a kid by a classmate who managed to swim back to shore towing DH.

This may surprise you but famies who can't afford swimming lessons also can't afford holidays with pools...

I find this really odd parenting. So one can't do something you disadvantage your other children aswell. I would have taken them swimming and took the other one to another sport /activity instead of them all missing out.

My son didn’t move up for nearly two years at his first grade, we both work and couldn’t bring him to the pool more than one other time a week if even that. The instructor told us gently that without practice a lesson a week doesn’t do much. To be honest though I just don’t get the big deal about why swimming is seen as so much more important than other aspects of life- I’d get it for example at places like on the continent where they swim daily, I’m not sure it’s something to be sad about

I was a single parent to three from he was 5.

I had no support and no one to leave them with. And I worked full time.

I couldn’t do it all.

im sorry that you feel my parenting wasn’t adequate, but I did my best.

that child had over 20 operations by the time they were 10. I was spread thin what with having to manage it all.

But you can sit there and feel superior to me. Well done.

what age are your children? Mine are all now mid-late 20s and are doing just fine.

I did my fucking best. You’re welcome to try with an autistic deaf child and one other autistic and adhd and pda profile and arfid and the last one NT if you think you could have done better please do tell me. If I’d stuck a broom up my arse my floors might have been cleaner too.