AIBU to question school swimming progress when DD still can’t swim a width?

[Nenanena]

Dd is 9. We go swimming as a family every few months and spend longer in the pool on holidays. She did a year of swimming lessons when she was 7 at the local leisure centre. Moved from Stage 1 to just beginning stage 3 but didn’t like the teacher and felt intimidated in the deeper water. Persisted for a bit despite not enjoying it and then got upset so we stopped lessons. About 6 months later started swimming in Y3 at school (at same leisure centre). Did 12 weeks. Initially got put in complete beginning group, when we flagged up she had been in stage 3 they moved her up. Currently halfway through another term of swimming in Y4. I got to see the lesson the other day as helped walk the kids to the centre.

Dd was in the ‘bottom’ group. They didn’t even have a width to swim in because of way pool was arranged. Some of the kids were mucking about so the teacher had to do quite a lot of behaviour management. They seemed to do loads on technique and isolating arms, legs etc and less focus on stamina and distance. She still can’t swim more than 6m unaided without putting feet down. Face always expected to be in water so think she isn’t breathing well. I’m shocked. We get no feedback about progress (was the same with private lessons). When I was at school we worked towards badges. You aimed for a width then a length etc and progress was fairly rapid. What’s the point on working on butterfly arms if you can’t even do a width of an easier stroke? Makes no sense to me.

That’s because school lessons and the ones you take at leisure centres are about life preservation and safety as opposed to distance (and often technique to some degree). You should look for a swim coach if that’s what you need, they can do 1-2-1 which means 30 minutes of swimming, they focus on technique (which you need to build on distance and speed). They don’t consist of waiting for 30 other kids to take their turn. Which definitely influences progress.

Agree - plus like many things easier to learn when young and an essential life skill.

School swimming isn't the answer.
By the time I got to my third, I paid for private 121 lessons, an hour every other weekend. Went from novice at 7 to swimming 800 metres in about a year.

You need to invest money and time into swimming.

School swimming lessons are next to useless foe actually planning to swim as they are infrequent and with large groups. My dc have always seen it as a fun trip out, not a learning experience.

It doesn't sound like your dc has had anything like what she needs in terms of tuition or practice. I would look at doing a holiday intensive course at Waster and then do weekly family swimming with some 1:1 teaching sessions going forward.

School swimming happens because it is part of the curriculum and some children have never been swimming, ever. No holiday swimming or access to a pool. It is not a great opportunity, more than half the time they are on the side and not even in the water.

Mine did intensive one week swimming courses when they turned 4 and they did this twice. It was at a private school in the school holidays. We did however take them "swimming" every week from being toddlers. That was more about water confidence and swimming underwater, swimming between our legs and diving for sticks.

One to One swimming lessons took place in the same pool so when mine wanted to learn how to do front crawl they had already seen how to breathe using a float plus I chatted with the instructor who was happy to give a minute of input.

Mine were motivated to swim because of things like rapids at CenterParcs and swim parties for birthdays.

I think you need to question your own input. Why on earth haven't you taught her to swim yourself?

Every few months as a family and once a week via school will not get your child swimming.

At 9 this needs to addressed, private lessons should address the problem.

Ignore if she doesn’t enjoy it, one day it could save her life so it is a vital life skill that she needs to have.

Well thank you for the honest comments; feel very guilty now about not having pushed this more when she was younger. I think I assumed that after about 53 lessons with qualified teachers over the past few years it might have led to more than it has done!

What do people think of the way Swim England teach swimming? Everyone of my age I speak to learnt in a matter of a year at most through their school lessons, being able to swim lengths at a time Mind you this was 35 years ago!! I thought lessons nowadays were along the same lines, hence outsourcing it.

You absolutely cannot rely on school lessons - they are there for the absolute most basic water safety (eg fall in a canal and kick to the side to save yourself).

to be a competent swimmer most children need weekly swimming. My dc had weekly small group lessons week in week out age 3 - 11 . I know that’s not possible for everyone in which case intensive summer courses are the answer (eg an hour a day with a small group and Instructor five days in a row).

you can’t become a competent swimmer just popping to the pool a few times in summer unless one of the adults is an instructor pr highly skilled and focussed on teaching technique

Schools do a term at best. I'm horrified you've given responsibility solely to school to pick up such an important skill. School swimming is "stop you drowning in an emergency" for those who have never been. It's not really designed to get students swimming lengths (just like school hockey doesn't make hockey players).

The people I know who can swim as adults were taken as children to lessons and at weekends. People who relied on school can't swim.

12 weeks of school lessons won't be enough to make that difference. I don't remember working towards badges in our school swimming lessons but we only did a few weeks in year 6. I put myself in the bottom group because I had no confidence and didn't do lessons. However, it turned out that the trips with my mum to the pool had made me a better swimmer than I thought so I could go up a stage but was so glad not to have to compete with the best swimmers in the class, my confidence could never.

As you mention, the teachers at the pool have a while host of behaviours and abilities to manage.

I feel it's probably a bit unfair to judge on seeing one session. There will be a reason that they've focused on technique over what you wanted to see, they'll have a set way to approach the classes. I'd say you're welcome to give your feedback and have a conversation about it so you can understand better why they do it the way they do it and they can maybe rethink comms with parents to give clarity around expectations.

In our primary, the school swimming is often the first time some of the children have been to a pool or had a chance to start learning to swim. That's why we do it. We live in a seaside area with high levels of depravation. Some children don't even visit the beach until school takes them. We're realistic about understanding this experience won't make them a strong swimmer on its own but by doing it in years 3-6, it's giving them the experience, making them feel welcome and comfortable in the pool and even just the visitor journey through the from the car park, changing rooms etc.

If it matters a lot to you, I'd find another swimming teacher or swimming school or different pool or whatever or just start going with your child weekly so you're the one teaching her in the way you want her to be taught.

I know my son's rugby skills aren't going to improve anywhere near as much in school as through twice weekly training and weekly games for his club. His musicianship isn't going to improve in his mixed ability school class when they play instruments anywhere near as much as he'll develop in weekly instrument peri lessons and weekly band practice and daily practice at home. But what that does do is expose all the children in his class to music concepts and some level of understanding.

I made the same mistake as you OP in trusting school swimming lessons. My son could swim 5m independently at 4 but after one year of school swimming lessons was flailing about doggy paddling. It turns out they don’t even go out of their depth in the school pool, just splash about a bit. I was annoyed but quickly found a swim school locally who got him back on track despite being a year behind his peers. Don’t beat yourself up.

My DSs are in their 20s and 30s but even back then school swimming lessons were known to be pretty ineffective. I wanted mine to be fairly competent before they had to run the gauntlet of School swimming lessons. One learnt easily at group lessons at the local leisure centre, the other did not, and didn’t enjoy the group. So we found a teacher who wasn’t able to do a 121 but to do a 1to 2 with another small boy. And we just turned up week after a week after week for the lessons, and then fortnightly practice with Mum or Dad. He then eventually moved with the same teacher to a small group lesson of about six children, persistence and the right teacher paid off.

How is your swimming ? If you only go every few months or on hols it sounds a bit sporadic .I would also stop being worried about her being at the "bottom" group ,it's not a maths test! Children will take your lead ,book some private lessons for her and maybe on a Sunday morning you could go as a family.If she doesnt enjoy it then maybe shes not a natural swimmer .As long as she can swim a bit that is enough .Recent figures from 2025 show 1 in 3 children cannot swim when they leave primary .

I’m 49

my parents took me and my brother swimming most weekends when we were young as they hadn’t learnt to swim until adults and wanted us to learn. The school swimming lessons are not generally enough

I didnt know this until some years ago but not everyone can be taught to swim. Some people just cant

However, in order to really test that, you do need to take her regularly yourself if its osmething you feel you want her to progress with. Or get private lessons

And of course no one wants to hear this but the best way to swim is in the sea, the waves keep you buoyant but its cold so no one wants to do that, but we were taking down to the coast a lot for this.

Swim England focus on good technique across the strokes which I think is the right approach. I do have some issues that they don’t push them out of their depth enough to know if they can actually swim without touching the bottom but 100% get why they need to do this given the child to teacher ratio, especially in school swim classes.

Sounds like your child is in the bottom group for a mixture of ability and confidence reasons.

Very oddly, it seems, I never had swimming lessons at school and neither did my children. We can all swim though because my older brothers taught me, and I taught my children by swimming regularly.

You need to take her swimming more frequently. Once every couple of months just isn't enough. You can't rely on school lessons.

A term of primary school PE lessons are never going to be enough to get up to standard in any sport.
I'd try finding a 1:1 teacher for half a term or an intensive week in the school holidays - that's how you will see the most progress.

DC’s are at private school where they swim permanently once a week, but even that’s not enough. They had to have years of proper lessons at a swim school (not a teen standing shouting at the edge of the local leisure centre)

Or teach them yourself.

Does she like swimming and want to swim?

Check out swimming clubs in your area. They generally have lessons on some type of academy etc they will swim more, and have focus on technique. If she can't currently swim a length in yr4, they may not take her- but worth looking into. They might also be able to suggest instructor for 1-2-1 or small group.

Good luck.

School swim lessons are there to learn the basic skills needed to prevent drowning. If you want to work on her technique you need to pay for private lessons and need to be taking her swimming yourself more frequently.

The way they teach swimming has completely changed. It focuses much more on getting the right techniques rather than just getting on and swimming a few lengths. Like you, I took my child for years of lessons including some 1:1 but she never really mastered it.

The way we were taught means that we could swim lengths and had the badges, but not the right technique. E.g. breaststroke with head always above water.

For some children, getting the correct technique matters, especially if they want to swim competitively. But for my child, I'd rather she was able to swim a few lengths but unfortunately that's not the way they wre taught now.