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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Going swimming in Year 2

78 replies

FallenAngel22 · 30/10/2011 10:32

Had a letter home before half term to say DD's year are starting swimming this week at the local Uni pool. Now although DD has been in the pool many times and is confident, she can't swim. I'm planning on speaking to her teacher tomorrow about how it's going to work but wondered if anyone here had any experience either as a parent or teacher. How many adults go with them? Do they usually have instructors in the pool? What if the water is deeper than DD can stand up in? She's small for 6!

Probably worrying needlessly but am sure I was around 9 or 10 before we went swimming with school!

OP posts:

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howtocalmachild · 30/10/2011 21:55

What does happen if they can swim already in school lessons? Do they concentrate on teaching the others to swim?

piprabbit · 30/10/2011 21:59

howto At DDs school, the different ability groups are all taught different things so that each groups swimming improves.

exoticfruits · 30/10/2011 22:24

Once they can swim there is progression. There will be very good swimmers. They differentiate-like all lessons.

LadyLapsang · 30/10/2011 22:55

Swimming is a basic life skill so it's great she's going to learn and not be like some of the children that leave primary school unable to swim. I'm sure she will be absolutely fine. If you wanted to speed up the process you could always book her in for swimming lessons outside school. A relative of one of my parents drowned in a canal as a child- there were no swimming lessons in school then, so count you blessings & let her participate.

pipkins1968 · 31/10/2011 09:43

My son has gone swimming with the school since reception [now year five].

30 children on average and more can't swim than can [confidently] usually they have one person [teacher or mum] in the pool with each group and one person watching each group from the side.

Usually there are 3 groups non swimmers then non swimmers but like the water and then good swimmers.

The group are allowed to take armbands if they wish although lots of swimming aids are available.

hOPE IT GOES WELL.

pipkins1968 · 31/10/2011 09:45

Just to add two of the teachers that go are qualified swimming instructors and run swimming lessons outside of school as well.

ByTheWay1 · 31/10/2011 10:52

Our school swimming was rubbish really - they spent one third of the time on the coach, one third of the time changing and one third swimming - so about 20 min in the water - my 2 could already swim, so ended up swimming back and fore across a training pool they could stand up in along with about 20 other kids and 1 instructor on the side ( obviously, for safety, most of the staff were with the non-swimmers)

The instructor would then take groups of 5 swimmers and "improve" their stroke for 5 min, then the next 5 etc - so 5 min of instruction, 15 min swimming, for just over an hour out of school.

Not surprisingly, after going along to help a couple of times and seeing this, I felt it was a waste of time and money for those who could already swim.

pipkins1968 · 31/10/2011 11:39

BYtheway..........................Did you have to pay for it?

My sons school is free.

Northumberlandlass · 31/10/2011 13:42

We have to pay £14 a term for swimming. DS can swim, he got his 600m badge last week. They do cater for all abilities, DS has to swim further for a warm up, then practices his technique etc. But I think he (and a couple of others) are just given a task and left to it. That's fair enough.

He has just turned 8, so in theory can go swimming by himself.

ByTheWay1, I think you are probably right - can't imagine they get much more than 20 mins in the pool.

One of the other parents asked me if DS was doing school swimming as he could already swim ! Why wouldn't he ? Its a little more exercise.

Northumberlandlass · 31/10/2011 13:48

Fallen, did you get the answers you were looking for ?

ByTheWay1 · 31/10/2011 14:31

Hi - yes we had to pay £3.50 per week (1 session a week) . Luckily only 2 years of "swimming" is done at our school, so mine are done with it now.

Original poster

FallenAngel22 · 01/11/2011 09:15

Just coming back to update. I spoke to DD's teacher who said the whole year 2 will be going, but in their classes at staggered times. The teachers will be poolside with an instructor who will be in the pool. They will assess them all, even those who say they can swim and then split them into ability groups. Apparently the pool is sufficiently shallow enough to allow standing without being fully submerged.

I feel better about it now and DD can't wait.

Thanks again for all your replies, it really helped :)

OP posts:

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 09:41

OP, glad you are feeling more relaxed about it now.

However, I must say this thread has shocked me with so many posts talking about children who cannot swim by the time they are 7 or 8yrs! I thought it was pretty standard to have your children swimming by the time they start school these days. My older 3 started lessons around 2.5 so could swim fairly well by the time they started going swimming at school in Reception. DS1 who is almost 8yrs had a swimming party in Reception and I seem to remember just 2 children in his class of 18 who weren't fairly confident swimmers by then.

ByTheWay1 · 01/11/2011 15:02

lol - swimming costs money.... there's getting to a pool and paying for the sessions, and as for lessons..... they are way too costly for some. So, no, not everyone can swim earlier than the school lessons. Our school only had lessons for Y3 and 4 so ages 7-8 really.

AChickenCalledKorma · 01/11/2011 15:57

Lovingthecoast - my older daughter also had lessons from the age of 3. However, she just didn't "get" it. We kept at it for two years, by which time she could manage 5m before putting her foot down. And then no progress whatsoever until she was about 7. Don't know why. She is very skinny, not at all buoyant and not particularly determined!!! We did take her out of the lessons for a while, because it was money down the drain and, as ByTheWay points out, they ain't cheap.

Anyway, she's 9 now and a strong, competent swimmer with better technique than I.

Just in case anyone is now panicking that their 5yo is "behind".

IndigoBell · 01/11/2011 16:33

No, most kids can't swim by the time they're 5! No way.

At my school swimming lessons are done in Y5 - and lots of kids have never been to a pool in their life before that!

But even kids who do go to swimming lessons, most won't learn by 5 - in fact most won't even start till they're at least 5.

My 11 year old is still learning how to swim (at great expense by me :) )
My 8 year old can swim
My 7 year old can't swim and isn't having lessons

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 16:36

I disgaree that learning to swim has to cost lots. Yes, it can but it doesn't have to. Many public pools offer nominal membership for those on low income and heavily subsidised lessons.

Even if that isn't available, what is wrong with families spending sat mornings in the pool and the parents tecahing their children how to swim themself? A couple of years of that and the child should at least have basic water confidence and be able to swim 5 or 10m. Learning to swim is an important life skill and the earlier they learn the better. It could save their life.

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 16:39

Really Indigo? Lots of Y5 children have never been in a pool? I don't consider myself particularly sheltered but that totally astonishes me!

Oh and I wasn't having a go at the op, just amazed as most kids starting school with my DCs could already swim and most people I know start their kids on lessons by age 3 at the latest.

IndigoBell · 01/11/2011 16:53

Yes, lots of Y5 children (in my school) had never been in a pool before. About half I think?

Some of it's cultural. ie certain cultures don't think of swimming as a leisure time activity.

Some of it's religious. ie in some religions women won't go swimming when men can see them so there's no one to take the children.

Some of it's cost. It costs something to go swimming. And of course if you can't swim, you can't teach your child.

Some of it's access. Not everyone has a swimming pool near them.

Some of it is just people don't think it's important that their child learns to swim - or they think school will teach them, so why should they.

I have to agree that if you never go swimming, then it's not really such an important life skill. If you live in a city the odds of you ever falling into water and drowning are small (though not non-existent).

There are far more important things to do with your weekends then learn to swim......

ByTheWay1 · 01/11/2011 17:05

Hi lovingthecoast - yep it does cost, even just for a sat morning swim as a family.

When my sister can't afford a new winter coat she is hardly likely to spend £4.20 (pool) and £8.40 (bus) on taking her 3 kids swimming on a Sat morning. Going to the park 2 streets away is free.

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 17:18

Ok, fair enough! I guess I have never lived anywhere so rural that it would cost £8.40 on a bus to get to the nearest pool!

I have to disagree about better things to do on a weekend though. I think if my children hadn't learned to swim I'd see it as a necessary way to spend my Saturday mornings.

I'm not obsessive about it. I didn't spend hundreds of pounds on Aquababies etc like everyone else in my NCT group. I took them myself when they were very little, then DH took them as toddlers then they started lessons. But it's obviously not just me who thinks it's important as they've had a weekly lesson at school since Reception class.

pipkins1968 · 01/11/2011 17:31

Local pool here cost £3.90 for me £2.60 for each child.

mum and dad three kids costs £15.60 and thats just for an hours swim.

That is a lot even if you walk there.

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 17:44

I guess that does sound more expensive than I thought. But then, no more expensive than most other weekend activities that aren't free such as going to the cinema etc.

Even if you only went every other week that would only be £30 a month. Now I am aware that many people do not have that £30 a month spare but many other people do spend that on stuff that they don't need such as take away or evening out etc. I guess to me it just seems like such an important life skill as well as being excellent exercise for them.

lovingthecoast · 01/11/2011 17:47

Bytheway, I'm assuming that if your sister cannot afford a new coat then she must be on low income. In our authority, access to the council pools for those on benefits or very low incomes is free at certain times and nominal cost at others. I thought this was fairly standard.

pipkins1968 · 01/11/2011 17:50

If it is an important life skill to you then you should go for it.

Other people find other things fun.

Good exercise i agree, my son would prefer his three times a week football and two tennis lessons.

I don't think swimming should be forced but being confident in the water whilist being able to put your feet on the floor a must.

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