Dear Parents / Carers,
During primary school, all children are required to have a block of swimming lessons. We believe swimming is an extremely important skill for your child to learn as it is one physical activity that can save lives.
Our swimming programme aims to achieve the following objectives for your child:
- To develop water confidence and water safety skills;
- To master basic stroke techniques and swim 25 metres;
- To participate in an enjoyable social activity;
- To participate in activities which can help improve health and fitness.
As a parent/carer you play a vital role in encouraging your child to swim and to help them learn about water safety, survival and lifesaving. Growing their water confidence will mean they progress more quickly so as to gain skills that will keep them safe around water.
There are several ways you could support your child:
- go swimming as a family;
- get them to put their face in water and blow bubbles whilst in the bath or shower;
- talk about water safety with your child and tell them how important it is;
- ensure your child has everything they need to take part in their swimming lessons. Try everything on to make sure it fits and they are comfortable;
- sign your child up for additional lessons at a local pool if possible;
- continue to swim outside school times even during the period that they are swimming with school.
The more they swim the better they will get. More information can be found here: https://www.swimming.org/schools/parents-and-pupils/
Telford & Wrekin Council will soon lose the funding which in previous years has meant that children in Years 4, 5, and 6 can swim with school for free. This money has covered the cost of using the pool, but does not cover the increasing cost of the transport needed.
We are currently reviewing our swimming curriculum and how we can move forward with the additional costs, including the pool hire and the transport to the Abraham Darby Leisure Centre by coach. From next September we will be offering blocks of swimming for Years 4 & 5 only. We will then offer intervention sessions for anyone in Year 6 who has not achieved the objectives above. How this will be organised is yet to be confirmed.
In the meantime, please see the link below which will direct you to Leisure Centres within Telford which offer extracurricular swimming lessons.
Swimming Information – Telford and Wrekin Leisure Services
We will update you in due course once we have reviewed our current practice.
Many thanks for your support.
