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.

With my eldest we had a great teacher one to one called Tracey. She got them swimming and literally pretty much guaranteed that within a few weeks she would have them swimming on their own each lesson was 30 minutes and cost £30 It took mine 4 lessons and she did a length. Worth every penny. That was 2012.

With my youngest he didn’t really progress endlessly swimming lessons at school, half term intensive sessions it was ridiculous. He just wasn’t progressing. No instructor in the pool.

We have an outdoor heated lido and when he was ten we pretty much went every single day in the summer with his friends. We refused to pander to him (screaming and refusing to go out of his depth) unless we were throwing and catching, we took his friends. We would not just stay in the shallow end. We made him get out. (Even with lifeguards I was like no sit on the side). The choice was out of your depth swim from me to step Dad or me to sister or whatever. Then one day we turned around and he was swimming. Swim from me to step dad was 1/2 width and we buy you an icecream, then we said do the width you can have £5 done and we said fine do a length and we give you £10 and he did. The next day he did 30 lengths.

actually by giving him a clear choice swim or wait he chose swim. We did also bribe him a bit eg if you swim from me to S dad 1/2 width you can have an icecream and a width was £5 and a length was £10. If they were swimming these things always out of their depth and us swimming alongside. We also always grabbed him when we wanted us so there was no panic. If swimming lengths swim up the pool not down.

I was quite ruthless when they were little about never ever letting them use the steps to get in or out and teaching them to float.

I think YABU.

Our kids school does a total of 10 weeks swimming and thats it for their school swimming.

I've been taking mine to provate lessons.

It has taken a long time. But older one did her 400m a couple of weeks ago.
She really struggled at the start and hated water on her face- this meant she was held back in the classes and didn't progress.

I think if I had just let her have the school swimming and maybe just on holidays she wouldnt be able to swim at all.

If you want your kid to learn you're gonna have to go back to private lessons.

Mine got very little from group lessons, either the leisure centre ones or with school. In the end I paid for a block of 6 1:1 lessons over the summer holidays, and also bought the leisure centres summer swim pass. So they had 1 lesson and 3 swims with me every week for the summer. We did little else that year, but at the end of it they could swim.

My older one was so bad initially she had to change classes cos the whole class was moving up a stage and she wasn't able to- so had to move to another class

Can you swim op? I definately think you should be taking her regularly. Get her really used to the water. If you can swim I would recommend taking her into the deeper water. If the lifeguards see you are teaching her and you are a competant swimmer they should allow you in at the deep end.
Thats what I do with the 7yr old, although at the mo. she is over confident and underskilled 😂
Good luck, please keep at it, as imo, swimming is not a luxury but a neccessity x

I'm surprised that you're surprised tbh? If you've been taking her from time to time, why are you shocked at what she can/ can't do?

Is she very different when you go family swimming?

Men would have never learnt with school The most important thing was a water confidence . Playing in the pool as a family , not being scared to go under or splashed in the face , playing games in the water . After that then swimming lessons as the will take the most out of them then.

My 6 year old son has been in the same bottom group in our local leisure centre for the last 2 years, we went on holiday in Feb and saw a massive difference in confidence but still struggled with moving his arms correctly. We have since started 1-2-1 lessons as a temporary solution who advised his issue is his breathing so they’re working on that, have seen a big improvement in the last 3 weeks thankfully.

The 1-2-1 is expensive but if you could look at it temporarily I think it’s a good investment.

School lessons in 70s from my recollection were organised chaos and hardly learning any actual swimming.

I learnt far more from my parents taking me and brother weekly swimming. We had an excellent sports centre nearby with Olympic pools though.

As a teacher, I don’t feel like we ever see much progress in swimming lessons. I’m ‘trained’ to teach swimming so I can take my class. It was one day. How I’m expected to learn everything about teaching to swim in one day is beyond me. The children are split into two groups. One group gets the qualified swim teacher, the other group gets me. Which group should get the proper swim teacher is hard to say. Do the more able ones need her to progress their skills, or do the proper beginners need the skills to get them started? 🤷‍♀️

I'd take her yourself weekly OP. Regarding the breathing thing, it might be worth trying a snorkel & mask (as this allows you to keep your head in the water the whole time, so it's easier). If she can swim a length with a snorkel, you'll know it's the 'coming up to breathe' technique that needs some work, and you can focus that with her.

I didn't expect any progress whatsoever from school swimming lessons tbh.
The only way to ensure you have a strong swimmer is to either pay for private lessons (way beyond stage 3) or take them frequently yourself.

The trouble with swimming lessons in this country is that the whole system is largely left to Swim England and similar bodies and therefore understandably focuses on swimming as competitive sport. As a consequence there's too much focus on developing skills in pointless strokes - useless butterfly etc - and not enough focus on being able to swim useful distances to stay safe in water.

The system in, for instance, the Netherlands is rather different. Passing the assessment for the "Swimming Diploma A" is a massive rite of passage for Dutch kids. The test is a big event with parents in attendance, and passing it is required for kids to be able to use public pools without armbands etc.

There's a strong focus on the skills needed to stay safe in water, and so the test includes sequences of skills like jumping into deep water fully clothed, treading water for 15 seconds, swimming a set distance and climbing out. It's supposed to simulate real situations like falling into one of their many canals.

My son started swimming lessons at the local pool at the end of reception. It has taken until now (mid way through yr 5) to get to stage 7. He goes once a week for lessons plus had some lessons with school (at the same pool) in yr 4.
Learning to swim takes time and consistency. If you can afford it i would sign your daughter up for regular lessons again seperate from school and do regular practice as a family.

This is my sense having watched her do these isolated techniques for weeks on end and there be very little focus on working towards a width without putting feet down. When she is with us in the pool she loves messing about and is confident in the water. Not in the deep end yet though. She seems to do a width of the small pool we visit but keeps her head above water. The other pool they have lessons in is wider.

Okay, point taken. Private 1:1 lessons it is.

School swimming lessons aren't enough to teach a non swimmer to swim.
Some leisure centre lessons are hopeless as well. My son did 18 months at the leisure centre from being 3.5 years. He made very little progress in that time.

I found a swim school that did 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 lessons. He learnt more in the first half hour than he had in 18 months at the leisure centre.
Absolutely fell in love with swimming and now, at 12, has been a club level swimmer for 2 years.

I would suggest looking for another swim school - ours wasn't cheap but worth every penny.

She’s not going to learn this way.

you need to get her back in lessons and take her regularly (weekly) yourself

I’m really surprised she didn't learn more from a year of private lessons! Was she going once a week?

My 4 year old has just started private lessons and the other children his age who have been going for a year/18 months can swim a width unaided.

This isn’t on the school. If you’re concerned she can’t swim you take her for swimming lessons. Mine have both been to weekly lessons at our leisure centre since they were 4. It’s non negotiable if the want to or not as one day it could save their life. They also did a term at school but that’s all school did as they have other things to be teaching. Taking 30 children to a pool must be a logistical nightmare. No way would it be enough to enable a child to be a competent swimmer.

I wouldn’t rely on school to teach child to swim. Too many children and I feel it’s just an activity to fill the timetable/national curriculum requirements. Definitely get her some lessons outside of school.

You need to get her 1 to 1 swimming lessons. I wouldn’t use group lessons because the kids in the group she’s in will be age 4/5. My daughter is 7, and just gone into stage 5. She’s can swim a whole length. She started at 4.

I say this as a "Swim Club" parent....

School swimming lessons are absolutely useless for teaching children how actually swim.

If you want her to actually be able to confidently and competently swim, you're going to need to do lessons elsewhere. I would look at a private company rather than local authority/leisure centre lessons. They are more expensive, however you tend to have a better ratio - more like 1:4 or 1:6 as opposed to 1:12 - so she will most likely improve massively with better, more focused sessions. If you can afford it, some 1:1 sessions would be even better

She went from stage 1 to. Stage 3. That is progress. But you can’t just stop there that’s the problem in my mind. The longer distanve and stamina comes in the later stages.

Don’t rely on school to do something you are capable of doing. How many in a school class compared to 1-2-1 you can provide!

I’m a bit confused. Are the school swimming lessons organised by the primary school? Or are they swim school lessons?