Swimming is a life skill and as such it’s vital that all children learn to swim. The objectives of the National Curriculum, require that all children should be able to swim 25m and be able to perform some basic safety activities before they move to secondary education.
The current financial crisis we are all facing, suggests that with rising costs in running swimming pools, may see hundreds of pools closing, many never to open again. It’s a daunting picture that will put young lives at risk.
Recent statistics released by Swim England, report that only 72 per cent of children in year seven meet the guidelines – this is down by 4 per cent compared to 12 months ago and 6.3 per cent below pre-pandemic. In Swindon, around 3000 children move to secondary schools each year. If the National figures are replicated in Swindon, we will have 1000 children each year not reaching the standards considered safe.
School swimming is also under pressure, with rising costs having an impact upon school budgets. It’s likely that swimming lessons will be one of the first activities to come under threat.
If you are looking for lessons for your children, contact us on 01793 423126 or e-mail us info@solutionsswimschool.org. We are busier than ever but still have places available – I’m sure we can help.
The end of another busy year, and hopefully we can all look forward to 2024 where we can return to some form of normality.
The next challenge for us all is inflation, with pool running costs at an all-time high, and many pool owners/operators are closing down facilities to save money. Fortunately Ridgeway is not one of them and they are holding their prices for the time being.
Good news - We must keep our children swimming at all costs - it saves lives.
