04 Feb 2021
Those That Have Missed out due to Covid-19
It has now been over a year that Covid-19 has been with us, on the news and in our daily lives. However the longer we all stay away from the swimming pool, the more year groups miss out on a vital, lifesaving part of their education. This is now even more important due to obesity in young children on the rise, and over 4 million children living in poverty. What are we going to do?
Since we started school swimming sessions, we have been greatly impressed with the results of the amount of children going from complete beginners to being able to confidently swim 25 metres, which is the Government requirement for Key Stage 2. However, due to the amount of lockdowns over the past year, we have sadly been unable to open the pool to help these children learn to swim.
Secondary Schools
When students move from Primary to Secondary, their new school has no obligation to supply swimming lessons to those in education. Meaning, if these students are not able to swim, they are less likely to start learning this life skill. What happens when these children go on holiday, or visit to the Leisure Centre with their friends?
It is Not Just Non-Swimmers
Not only does this effect the safety of non-swimmers, but potentially also the people around them. Should a weak swimmer get into difficulty, with the lack of lifeguards, support or experience, they could also endanger the people they are with.
When Does School Swimming start?
Usually, we find majority of schools start swimming lessons with their Year 4 classes. Some undertake a full term, or even a whole year, of lessons. Some schools book 6 terms and rotate their year groups and classes throughout the year, to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to practice, learn and develop their water skills on a regular basis.
What are we going to do?
Currently, we are waiting for the Government to tell us when it is safe and appropriate for us to reopen the pool. We want to be fully operational again, so as to help as many schools and pupils continue learning to swim. However, the safety of the population, and the safety of our customers is paramount.
Fund Raising
To help fund additional swimming sessions for Dover’s local schools, we are looking at fundraising financial support to help offer more lessons to those that cannot swim and have missed out due to Covid-19. We are looking at our Stage 4 & 5’s, Learn to Compete and Speed Through Technique to help fundraise by swimming the distance of the channel with us in the pool through an organised event.
We will bring out further details about this once we have reopened.
