Press Release

STA RESPOND TO OFSTED REPORT INTO SWIMMING - “UK STANDARDS AREN’T SET HIGH ENOUGH”

28th November 2007

In response to the Ofsted Report (20/11/07) entitled ‘Reaching the Key Stage 2 Standard in Swimming’, the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) is encouraged that the report has found that more schoolchildren are actively participating in learn to swim programmes, but warns that the 25 metres requirement set for Key Stage 2 is not good enough for today’s 11 year olds - in fact they say that 25 metres is the level Third World Countries are aiming for, and questions why the UK Government is not striving to achieve higher standards in both swimming and water safety education? 

Roger Millward, STA’s Chief Executive says: “As an educational charity, STA endorses any programme that encourages more children to learn how to swim and teaches the importance of water safety; but this report focuses on the 25 metres minimum requirement and ‘promotes’ the fact that most 11 year olds can swim this distance.  This is a good start, but the current Key Stage 2 requirement of 25 metres is not enough, particularly when you compare it against other developed countries in the world.  In New Zealand for example, their minimum requirement is 200 metres.  Surely we should be striving for at least 100 metres to be the minimum?”

“It is also concerning that the report found that some groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties and from minority ethnic backgrounds, are still missing out on the opportunity to achieve even this basic requirement of 25 metres, which was identified as a problem eight years ago, in the previous Ofsted Report published in 1999. This is particularly disappointing because of the fact that swimming is an ‘all-inclusive’ activity, which can be enjoyed by everyone.

The STA point to several reasons why the 25 metres standard is not good enough for the UK, but Roger stressed that the main point is the fact that learning to swim is a key life skill.  He said; “The importance of this issue CANNOT be underestimated. Struggling to swim 25 metres in a warm pool in a swimming costume does not make a child safe. If a child falls into cold water, the shock, the cold, the current and the clothes will reduce the distance capacity by a huge percentage.”

“Also, by setting 25 metres as the minimum standard, are we saying that this is enough, and that you’re 11 year old can now swim and is safe in the water?  This could be very dangerous as surprisingly many of the youngsters who tragically drown can actually swim, or can they?  If you speak to non-swimmers they will tell you that if they can help it they won’t go near water, and if they are in a swimming pool or the sea they will ensure that their feet can firmly touch the bottom.  Non-swimmers have no confidence near water, so are children, particularly teens, who ‘think’ they can swim, overly confident in and around water?  If the answer’s yes, which we believe it is, it’s due to a lack of water safety education.”

Already this summer, there have been several British children and adults who have tragically drown in pools, rivers and seas, plus we have the growing problem of tombstoning. Therefore, with drowning still the third most common cause of accidental death among children under the age of 16, surely it is now time to seriously think about water safety education in our schools, rather than just swimming per se.

The Way Forward
As one of the UK’s leading swimming organisations, STA is calling for water safety education to become a compulsory part of the school curriculum, as well as being fundamental in all learn to swim teaching programmes. The STA also recommends that the minimum Key Stage 2 requirement should be raised from 25 metres to 100 metres, in line with the rest of the world.  “This would ensure that children are not only able to swim confidently across a pool, but that they also know how to behave safely in and near water, and understand the potential dangers,” confirmed Roger.

Equally, swimming should not just be thought of as a sport.  It is a key life skill, and it should be the entitlement of all children to be taught to swim in the same way as they are taught to read or write. If a child is not introduced to football or netball at school they miss an experience. If they don’t learn to swim, and are not taught about water safety they can lose their lives.  “So why are we not assessing, as well, how schools are teaching water safety education both through their learn to swim programmes and in the classroom,” added Roger.

“The report quite rightly indicates that more improvement is needed, but this must be led from Government, with schools given more support and funding so that we can achieve these higher standards,” concluded Roger.

One last question - it has now been a week since this Ofsted report was published, and all media reviews indicate that the Governing Body for Swimming has welcomed the findings.  The STA questions why the Governing Body is not publicly raising these issues about higher standards, if only for the future success of swimming as a sport, let alone the fact that teaching swimming and water safety education can save lives?

To download the full Ofsted Report into Swimming at Key Stage 2 – please visit www.sta.co.uk

 

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