Different strokes for different folks

Today marks the first day of summer, but while some of the shire’s primary school students will be offered swimming lessons, others will not.

Swimming programs vary school-to-school from intensive week-long lessons, to weekly pool sessions to nothing at all.

At Batemans Bay Public, St Peter’s, Mogo Public, Moruya Public, St Mary’s and Broulee Public schools, students from various age groups undertook intensive swimming programs during November.

Batemans Bay Public School principal Tom Purcell said the aim was to get students to be able to swim 25m freestyle, swim confidently into deep water and tread water.

“It gives children the opportunity to gain skills in water and confidence,” Mr Purcell said.

St Bernard’s Primary and Sunshine Bay Public Schools do not hold swimming lessons for their students but strongly encourage parents to enrol privately.

“We don’t actually go to formal swimming lessons, but we promote it through our newsletter,” St Bernard’s assistant principal Jacqueline Lee said.

The school participates in a land-based swim safety syllabus, but for the practical side of things it “encourages parents to take up the opportunity,” Ms Lee said.

According to teachers, learning to swim, either inside or outside school, is vitally important for children, especially in the Eurobodalla.

“With the lifestyle down here, learning how to swim takes on a whole new importance,” Mr Purcell said. “Not only are we surrounded by beaches, but we’re also right on the river.”

According to Mr Purcell, there was a time when teaching kids to swim during school was an easy task.

“There were times, especially at our old school site near the swimming pool, where most classes had the option in the last school term to participate in water skills and confidence,” he said.

But now there are distances, costs and paperwork.

“The other big (reason) in schools has been that the rules have changed in relation to swimming. It’s a lot harder, there’s risk assessment and protocols in relation to taking kids to swimming pools.”

He said this came after a series of tragic drowning incidents in the country.

“A lot of schools have tended now to leave that responsibility to parents.

“It’s certainly been detrimental. In some circumstances, the only chance kids got was at school.”

However, he said it placed an enormous responsibility on teachers.

St Peter’s junior school head Sharon Thornton said teachers had to be very mindful when watching other people’s children in the water.

“There’s a strong duty of care to the schools in the area that all children can swim and look after themselves in the water,” she said.

Mr Purcell said there were limitations to teaching children to swim in schools and a lot of the responsibility lay with parents.

“It’s vitally important there is a follow-up by parents and caregivers to these programs,” he said.

Moruya Public Year Two teacher Jan Turner-Smith agreed.

“There’s no way we can take on that full responsibility, they need to be able to have outside swimming lessons. And the earlier the better.”

What schools are in the swim?