Do you pay for school swimming lessons?

[Wigeon]

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?

Seems to be one of those 'doubletalk' issues where rhetoric about inclusive compulsory education is then ‘adjusted’ at local level mostly by skinflint local authorities and schools who do not wish to spend the money or have spent it on something else. Recent Department of Education guidance to Governors and Heads (not really for us of course) is quite clear at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/365929/charging_for_school_activities_-_October_2014.pdf

Swimming is part of the National Curriculum and the target is to be able to swim 25 Metres by age 11. Primary schools have a mandatory duty and cannot charge either for the provision and tuition or for transport deemed necessary. Part of the funding from Central Govt to Local Govt or direct in the case of Free Schools and Academies is supposed to reflect this so they have had the money in their budget.

Schools can ask for donations, they can ask the PTA to raise funds, they can implore Father Christmas but they must provide and cannot relate provision to a charge, cannot insist and cannot embarrass, sanction or discriminate or, worse, exclude children whose parents can't or won't pay - which I saw above. It's all in the guidance.

Of course, if the same Local Authority is closing pools, charging vast sums for time or tuition, making pools into playgrounds with moving water, slides etc. so unsuitable for teaching then it becomes difficult as it also does if the money which is not 'ringfenced' is diverted.

Teaching swimming was made compulsory in Britain long ago and, like vaccination, resulted in a rapid improvement of survival chances. In other societies, like parts of the USA where drowning remains a major cause of premature death, our UK statistics are used to support the case for a similar positive intervention and our much lower drowning rate applauded.

It would be at a cost in lives for us to lose it and it should not be made some sort of 'optional extra' to be paid for - I've just been asked for £120 for my twins to have a terms lessons. Many parents simply could not afford this kind of charge. It’s quite simply wrong, the local vanity project ‘leisure centre’ is kept afloat by charges to schools for use of facilities once free before playing fields were sold off and old style local pools closed.

However, I know that if I resist it subtle pressure will be put on the twins as has happened before with other issues where I and other parents have challenged questionable interpretation of law and the rules.

It should be made clear when asking for parents to pay that it is not compulsory as it is part of the curriculum. Parents should also have access to the Charging and Remissions policy for the school that should say the same. It also isn't compulsory for the school to pay for a swimming teacher. Teachers can teach the requirements of swimming in the curriculum, but many don't feel confident to do so. Employing a swimming teacher means that you are also covered for life saving, if an incident occurs as all swimming teachers employed by the LA or local council responsible for the swimming pool are required to employ teachers with a life saving qualification.

We pay £2 a lesson here. Year 2 get 6 lessons at the end of the summer term and ks2 get 2 blocks of 6 lessons spread out over the year.

DS's school only takes them in year 5 and as he's only in year 3 I don't know yet if we will be charged (bus to council owned pool).

I admit I will be reluctant to pay much or at all at that point as DS can already swim 25 metres.

Do many other schools leave it late as well?

No we don't pay but the school has it's own pool which they hire out to other schools I assume that funds ours

This annoys me so much.

I organise the swimming at my school and, despite huge difficulties with the budget, we would never dream of charging parents. Most of the parents in our school are on a low wage in a deprived area of the country. Their children will only get swimming lessons at school as parents either can't afford swimming lessons or can't be bothered organising them themselves.

My sons go to a school that is in a more affluent area and they charge £9 for the coach. Strangely, they didn't ask for a parental contribution for the crappy video screen that they installed on the kids playground a couple of years ago that ha never been seen working properly and has since disappeared.

I wouldn't pay. Schools are answerable to OFSTED if enough of their children don't reach a required standard in swimming by the end of the year and, although school budgets are extremely tight, parents shouldn't be asked to fund a curriculum area. The head has to balance the books.

The schools that don't charge are often ones where they can walk to the pool in question so don't need the coach hire costs that make costs mount up. Or they've got the setup one of our local schools has where they have their own pool and basically it's on private hire to every single local swimming school any second of the evening and weekend they can hire it out for to subsidise the cost during the day.

central london school, majority are free school meals. We are not asked to contribute at all. They have swimming lessons for two terms in year 4, two terms in year 5 and one term in year 6. The kids use public transport (free) to get there and back. In short they cannot demand you pay as it is part of the curriculum and therefore should be free. I personally would be happy to do fundraising but would out of principle refuse to pay a penny. The only time we get asked for money for anything is to cover adults travel costs to accompany trips and even then its a pound or two.

I know this is an old thread, but can I ask a question about opting out? It was said upthread that it's illegal for schools to let you opt out of swimming, because it's a national curriculum requirement. But at our school you have to give your consent for your child to travel on the coach. Surely if they have to ask for your consent then there's an option for you to say no?