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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

Do you pay for school swimming lessons?

85 replies

Wigeon · 15/09/2015 12:45

DD1 has just started in Y3 and the school charges £48 a term for school swimming lessons, to cover the cost of the coach and swimming teacher. They are emphasising that this is a compulsory part of the national curriculum, but their budget doesn't stretch to funding it.

There seems to be a point of principle here - are school budgets really so tight that schools can't afford to fund all the compulsory elements of the curriculum? There would be an outcry if parents were asked to fund part of teacher's salaries, or the caretakers' brooms, or to buy a new noticeboard for the staffroom, which are other essential elements of running a school. When asked, the HT said that if parents didn't pay for the swimming lessons, she'd have to ask them to pay for something else like textbooks.

I know that not all parents do cough up (on principle, not because of poverty), and so there's an additional issue that those that do are subsidising those that don't. Or the school pays for some people - in which case why can't they pay for all?

I don't mind paying at all for extra trips, or end of term treats etc etc, but am pretty annoyed about paying for something which is a core part of the school's responsibility to deliver.

I want to write to someone (the local authority? The local MP?) to make the point that it appears schools are so badly underfunded that they can't afford to pay for compulsory elements of what they are expected to do.

So, does your school charge for swimming lesson? How much? What justification have they given? And are you happy to pay?

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turkeyboots · 15/09/2015 17:26

We pay for the coach only. It about £50 a term which isn't too bad as coaches are v v expensive.

3littlebadgers · 15/09/2015 17:27

Ours start for one term in yr 4, for once a week, and then once a week in yr 5. We pay nothing towards it.

SmugairleRoin · 15/09/2015 17:31

Teachers spend a lot of money buying resources - if they didn't there would be many experiences the children would miss out on.

By all means campaign away, I'm all for it - but yes schools are underfunded and the PTA do sometimes need to step in and pay for display boards etc.

vestandknickers · 15/09/2015 17:35

I pay £25 per term per child, but they do go twice a week. I'm more than happy to pay. My children love it and I know how stretched budgets are.

Ellle · 15/09/2015 17:42

In DS's school they do a term each year. In the letter it is written the amount to be paid per term, and it can be done in one payment or weekly installments.

It has been explained that it is supposed to be a contribution as they are not allowed to charge for it, but that if not enough parents contribute they won't be able to do it as hiring the bus, etc, is costly.

I was happy to pay when he started the school swimming lessons last year, as it was only about £2 per lesson, which is half of what we currently pay for his private (group) swimming lessons. Also, to my surprise, they were proper lessons. They divided the groups on the first day per ability, and he happened to be allocated in the higher group with only three other kids, a better ratio than we had on his private lessons. He learned a lot, and I could see improvement from his lessons at school that he applied to his private lessons where I was present.

So, again this year, I was more than happy to contribute towards it.

MrsPnut · 15/09/2015 17:52

Our school don't charge, they use pupil premium funding (not from FSM's) to pay for the coach and the swimming instructor is paid for centrally.

Our kids go in year 4 and they are assessed so only the ones that can't swim 25m have lessons for most of the year and the others have the last term doing water skills.

DD can swim well, in fact she trains for 2 hours a week at the moment so she did the bare minimum with school.

In fact her school fund all school trips from their pupil premium which allows them much more flexibility when planning visits.

Bunnyjo · 15/09/2015 19:02

Our school asked for a £10 contribution from parents to cover the cost of transport for a 6 week block of lessons.

DD can swim very well - she has passed ASA stage 8 - but she wants to go and would probably feel a little left out if she was the only child not going.

reni2 · 15/09/2015 19:13

No, ours are free. I have never heard of a school charging for them. What next, charging for maths lessons?

lifesalongsong · 15/09/2015 20:29

MrsPNut - what do you mean by PP funding nor from FSM - there isn't any other PP funding afaik.

Do you know how schools can get other kinds of PP funding, I know my childs school would be really interested to know about extra available funding

ghostspirit · 15/09/2015 20:37

in my children's school. they use the school pool from year 1 to year 4 once in year 5 they go to the local pool. we don't pay

CheesecakeDreams · 15/09/2015 20:48

We have to pay £40 for six lessons. Year 3,4 and 5. The PPniney is spent on an extra teacher. We also have no choice but tomcat and they are quite aggressive if you don't! I always have but it stretches the budget and I resent it hugely as ds can swim already.

CheesecakeDreams · 15/09/2015 20:49

Pp money, to pay it etc!

bluebump · 15/09/2015 20:57

We pay £35 per term approximately, which covers the instructor, pool hire and mini bus to take them there. It's not mandatory and I know plenty of parents who don't pay but as I can, I do.

Original poster

Wigeon · 15/09/2015 21:14

Thanks for all the replies !

I am totally happy to support the school in loads of ways (eg until recently I was a school governor at the infants school my DD used to go to, I bake cakes and help at school events, voluntarily spend plenty of money at PTA events etc etc), but given the huge amount of money I already pay in tax, I do rather resent paying extra for core curriculum things.

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Dragonglass · 15/09/2015 21:21

My children have had swimming lessons while at 3 different primary schools and we have never had to pay.

Fizrim · 15/09/2015 21:48

Years 3, 4 and 5 go swimming for one term each per year here so get about 6 or 7 weeks of lessons depending on the term. It costs around £40 or less (last year the year 3s had six weeks so it was less than some of the other years).

What got my goat is the fact that it takes up an entire afternoon! DD's school is a three-form intake, so it takes two coaches to transport them there with a half-hour gap.

MrsPnut · 15/09/2015 21:56

There is a pupil premium for children of parents in the services of £300 a year. Our school has approximately 250 children a year that this applies to. This funds all school trips, the coach for swimming lessons and play workers for every lunchtime for both playgrounds as well as extra play worker time for children who need it.

Piratespoo · 15/09/2015 22:04

We have to pay about £35 for about 6 or so lessons. I really resent it as we shouldn't have to pay.i didn't pay for ages and I got several emails and then several phone calls from the school secretary which was quite embarrassing as I was pretending my husband was meant to have done it!
I am quite annoyed though with the chasing. My dd hates going and I wish she didn't have to do it and if they want to make her then they should pay! They get about 15 mins in the pool and then have to is freezing on the side while waiting for everyone else.
Not sure what I am going to do this term...

exLtEveDallas · 15/09/2015 22:10

Yep, we pay. £2.50 per lesson for 8 x 30 min lessons once a year. Costs cover minibus, two instructors and two lifeguards for 30 kids. The kids on FSM pay £1.25 and the school makes up the shortfall from pupil premium.

Because of parents complaining we are only doing one series this year. It will be a joint Year 3 and 4 session for the same time/price. No-one else will do it. Which is a shame because the kids enjoyed it.

Fizrim · 15/09/2015 22:13

It is optional here - your child can stay in school if you prefer.

mrz · 16/09/2015 06:53

The National Curriculum is very clear Schools must provide swimming lessons in either KS1 or 2 ...

Biscetti · 16/09/2015 07:05

Year 2 here, swimming lessons weekly with no cost to parents. I kind of thought it was the case everywhere. A bit surprised to find it's not.

vestandknickers · 16/09/2015 07:20

Yes, that's true Mrz but my children's school far exceeds their obligations under the national curriculum and I am therefore very happy to pay.

mrz · 16/09/2015 07:48

Perhaps you are happy to pay for it but that doesn't mean that all parents are happy or able to pay for something that schools must teach. It isn't optional it's a compulsory subject.
Perhaps the school should look for non statutory aspects they provide and charge for them instead.

Original poster

Wigeon · 16/09/2015 11:25

Agree it would be better for them to charge for non-statutory elements. But maybe it's harder for them to identify £2k worth of non-statutory provision in one go (which is what £48 swimming lesson charge x 60 children is), because perhaps it would be made up of lots of bitty things, which possibly couldn't be costed so specifically, whereas swimming is a clearly identifiable thing they can charge for.

Doesn't make me any happier with it, but I wonder if that's the school's logic.

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