DS(9) still can't swim after years of lessons - how to approach it and how to motivate him?

[Yesterdayyesterday]

I feel so sad about this today. DS is in Y5 and I've been taking him for swimming lessons since Y1 and he is making such slow progress. He can do about 10m on his back and maybe 5 on his front but it feels so far from where he needs to be.

We've tried several different swim schools, for various reasons including scheduling and just trying to find somewhere that clicks. Recently I decided that the pool he was in (teaching pool) was too small and shallow as he puts his feet down regularly when swimming rather than doing the whole length.

So today I took him to the local council pool which is a full size one. Annoyingly I booked him on the wrong class - stage 2. I felt that was pretty humiliating for him as he was with a bunch of 5 year olds and it was too basic. The stage 3 class looked better but the kids still looked a lot younger.

I'm not sure what to do - try to get a stage 3 spot or do 1-1 lessons, or go back to the last place which at least was quiet and friendly. Also, he doesn't really enjoy swimming either so I need some way of motivating him to go.

I think the suggestions about intensive lessons are good ones. It’s not the same but I struggled to pass my driving test on the one a week type lessons but did much better doing tuition in an intensive burst.

At the stage he is, I would want to keep going. My 4yo sounds v similar and I wouldn’t trust her at all re swimming ability yet. I’d also think seriously about 1:1s. There are some 1:1 lessons running at the same time as our group lessons and I’ve seen the kids make so much progress it is making me tempted to suck up the extra cost and do the same. It clearly makes a massive difference. These children aren’t even mine and I’m impressed by how far they’ve progressed in a couple of months- it’s a great advert for 1:1s. In the group lessons by comparison the kids spend a lot of time waiting for their turn or just messing around. In the private ones the teacher is in the water correcting positions, the kids are super engaged etc.

Hi, this sounds just like my 8 year old DS. He finds all sports quite difficult and things like riding a bike. He got diagnosed recently with dyspraxia and the report pointed out lack of core strength and muscle tone and problems coordinating movements.

He’s always struggled with swimming and his younger brother has progressed a lot quicker and is 2 stages in front of him ( which I know his hard for him to take)

I’m at least glad we can inform the swimming instructors now as I think they regularly just thought it was a lack of effort .

Hi @Lauren87Ellis, how did you come to get your DS diagnosed? Was there something in particular that initiated it?

DS can ride a bike (though he doesn't particularly enjoy it!). I guess I feel that he would need to have some particular issue for a GP to refer him for diagnosis and we don't have anything concrete.

Hi,
yes there were various little things such as lack of improvement in drawings and handwriting, he started drawing and writing really early but there has been very little improvement since year 1. Quite a messy eater struggles with knife and fork, approaches most physical things it just a slightly for want of a better word odd way.

Struggles with throwing and catching a ball, doing buttons on his shirt.

The school also said that he would complain of muscle fatigue when completing longer pieces of writing and his lack of spatial awareness has caused some issues when playing ( regularly bumps into people)

The school referred him for an assessment at the hospital and he scored in the bottom 9% of children his age in all areas so gross motor, fine motor, spatial awareness and general muscle tone.