Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Written Evidence


Memorandum submitted by the Amateur Swimming Association

INTRODUCTION

  1.  This paper is a submission by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Inquiry into Community Sport.

  2.  The ASA is the governing body for swimming and its associated disciplines in England and is the largest of the constituent members of the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain. However, it has a much wider remit, which is indicated by its mission statement, which includes the following objectives:

    "Swimming is a sport for life.

    To ensure everyone has an opportunity to learn to swim.

    To ensure everyone can achieve his or her personal goals.

    To ensure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy swimming as a part of a healthy lifestyle".

  3.  Swimming continues to be the largest participation sport in the UK, with 11.9 million people participating on a regular basis and is widely acknowledged as being a healthy activity, providing good cardio vascular and muscular exercise, with minimal risk of injury. It is a sport enjoyed by both young and old and one that can be enjoyed by people of all shapes and sizes. Importantly it is also an activity from which people suffering from a disability can gain an immense amount of satisfaction and pleasure and also help with the recovery of people who have suffered a major illness. In short it is an activity, which is uniquely beneficial across the whole of society.

  4.  In its evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Inquiry into the Sport of Swimming in December 2001 the ASA drew the attention of the Committee to a number of issues which restricted the opportunities for children and adults to take up swimming and to continue swimming throughout their lifetime. These were picked up by the Committee in the report "Testing the Waters: The Sport of Swimming" and we feel it is appropriate to refer to the progress which has been made as a part of this submission.

LEARNING TO SWIM—SCHOOLS

  5.  Initially many children learn to swim through schools and evidence was provided to the Committee indicating that one in five children failed to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and were unable to swim 25 miles by the end of Key Stage 2. Further research indicates that this may in fact be an understated figure and more children are not given an opportunity to achieve the National Curriculum standard than was originally thought. This further research confirms however that the ones that don't achieve the standard or who don't get the opportunity to achieve the standard are largely from the poorest in society.

  6.  As a solution to the problem two pilot schemes have been conducted by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), together with the ASA and these have demonstrated that for children who have not achieved the standard, there can be a 67% success rate if they are provided with an intensive course of instruction (TOP-Up) at some point in the term—in this case, after their SATs exam. The added benefits of this initiative were astonishing in that the children gained in general confidence and had a strong feeling of wellbeing. The anecdotal evidence from teachers from the scheme was impressive as for some children it was the first time they had achieved much in sport through school.

  7.  Further co-operation between the DfES and the ASA has resulted in the launch of a school's "Swimming Charter" providing guidance on swimming teaching and water safety and examples of good practice for school swimming programmes.

  8.  Additionally substantial funding is being made available by the DfES for further development of the TOP-Up programme to ensure that learn to swim, delivered by schools is of a consistently high quality. The ASA are currently working with DfES on a consultation into the best method of delivering this on a national basis.

  9.  Whilst all the foregoing are positive moves, the ASA still hears of schools where, because of funding pressures relating to the cost of transport and pool hire or because of pressures on the time table or the lack of suitably trained swimming teachers, swimming still does not receive the attention it warrants. The key to resolving once and for all the issue of effective school swimming is for OFSTED to measure the delivery of school swimming and the achievement of children against the agreed standard linked to significant investment in quality teacher training through the ASA. All the evidence suggests a good teacher will deliver good results in the pool.

  10.  The teaching of swimming and safety in the water are not only the gateway to swimming and its disciplines but are also necessary to take part safely in a whole host of other water-based activities. The ASA believes that learning to swim at an early age is one of the pre requisites for a lifelong active and healthy lifestyle and whilst applauding what is being done to improve the situation by the DfES, considers that the Government should be more specific in focusing on the delivery of swimming in schools including the provision of specific targeted funding.

  11.  Learning to swim however should not be seen in isolation to the achievement of the child generally in school. Knowledge of water safety an important part of the National Curriculum provides important understanding for the child in risk assessment. Swimming also opens up the door to a wider enjoyment of sport and activity and can be linked to nutrition and other key learning skills.

LEARNING TO SWIM—OTHER SOURCES OF TUITION

  12.  Not all swimming tuition takes place in schools and many children and adults receive swimming tuition from other sources. For some time the ASA has had a concern about the standard of teaching and a lack of consistency in the approach to the teaching of swimming. As a result the ASA has developed a standard for teaching programmes, "Aquamark", which can be applied universally to schools, local authority pools, private pool providers, health clubs, private swim schools and swimming clubs. The standard has been developed following consultation with the various types of organisations, which provide teaching, was piloted in eleven centres before its launch and has the support of the leisure industry. The standard should help to ensure a consistency in the approach to and quality of lessons, giving the consumer confidence and making learning to swim an enjoyable experience. Perhaps the time has now come where tuition in all public and private sport facilities should be required to meet national performance criteria set by the ASA as the governing body for the sport.

LIFELONG PARTICIPATION

  13.  Once the skill of swimming has been learned it is there for the rest of a person's life. Whilst it may become "rusty" if the skill is not exercised, recovery is easy and the support given by the water allows an aging person with mobility problems to undertake cardio vascular exercise, which would normally be impossible.

  14.  Whilst this is true it is also correct to say that for some swimming is boring and we believe that if we are to encourage people to swim throughout their lifetime there is a need to look carefully at the promotion of swimming and its image. We need to improve our facilities with significant investment to make them inviting and more customer friendly and we need to adapt our programmes in pools to provide "added value" to the customers of today. The ASA feels to achieve this requires:

    —  Investment in facilities.

    —  Investment in training of staff.

FACILITIES

  15.  The Select Committee was made aware of the parlous state of many of the public swimming facilities and school pools and it would be true to say that the situation has not improved. Indeed we hear more reports concerning closures or possible closures than we do of new or replacement pools being built or refurbishments taking place.

  16.  Additionally the Committee also received information on the role played by the Sport England Lottery Fund in providing capital for swimming pool projects and whilst this has continued at a somewhat lower level with investment in a number of projects, the future for funding from this source now looks exceedingly bleak.

  17.  The Government has put in place a number of national programmes designed to invest in the building of new facilities and upgrading existing ones but to date the effect on swimming facilities appears to be fairly minimal when viewed against the need, over the next few years, of an estimated expenditure of over £2 billion just to maintain the status quo. Indeed, in terms of swimming, the government target of no one living more than 20 minutes away from a sports facility by 2008 will be difficult to meet unless there is a specific investment programme aimed at improving the swimming pool stock.

  18.  We support the Government contention that if children and young people can be given the habit of exercising from an early age and easy ways provided of continuing to exercise out of school, they are more likely to stay active into adult hood. We were therefore enthused by the "Building Schools for the Future" (BSF) programme only to find that whilst other school sports facilities which could also be used by the community were included, swimming pools were not. Whilst anecdotal, we have heard of community schools built in the 70's with a swimming pool, which are to be replaced under the BSF programme, where the new school will not include a swimming pool unless this can be funded from another source. This is a missed opportunity, particularly in areas where there is a poor provision of swimming facilities and runs contrary to Sport England policy on community use of schools.

  19.  If we are to encourage the increasing numbers of participants in swimming envisaged by the Government, facility provision will need to be an important part of any strategy.

  20.  We see pools of the future being designed to be accessible and flexible with the aim of maximising participation and where appropriate being a part of a "whole" community facility being linked into schools where these are well sited for community access or linking into the development of libraries, health centres, community halls and multi sports facilities etc. The whole, however, is contingent upon appropriate funding mechanisms being available to build and manage these facilities for the community they serve.

INVESTMENT IN TRAINING—PROFESSIONALS

  21.  The ASA is developing alongside the UK Coaching Certificate a new training programme for "Healthy Living Coaches" who can bring to the pool some of the culture of the fitness room where the customer is valued and supported through their experience.

  22.  Swimming remains the one activity that can make perhaps the biggest single impact on obesity and health. The need for Strategic investment is now. Funding for the ASA from Sport England is the same today as it was yesterday despite all the work in developing a Whole Sport Plan. The ASA believes working with its traditional partners and new partners in the commercial sector it can drive participation up in swimming by 1% each year. This is an ambitious target and one that cries out for investment from Government to work with the ASA in putting its activity strategy into place. The ASA has called for:

    —  Investment into training with the ASA able to access directly Learning and Skills Council funding for a national training programme for people in the aquatic business.

    —  A network of 45 Swimming Activity co-ordinators to be appointed linked to County Sport Partnerships to stimulate activity locally.

INVESTMENT IN TRAINING—VOLUNTEERS

  23.  Like all sports, participation at grass roots level relies very heavily upon volunteers. Swimming is no exception and there are some 50,000 volunteers giving almost 3 million hours of their time per year. Without this level of unpaid service, which can involve teaching, coaching, lifeguarding, acting as an official for competition, administration and even just taking children by car to events the sport would struggle to survive.

  24.  Also the work of the volunteer get more difficult as the years progress with new legislation, health and safety matters and in this increasingly litigious society the threat of civil and even criminal action. As a result training is of the utmost importance and the ASA have found it necessary to appoint a Volunteer Co-ordinator with the responsibility of recruiting and supporting volunteers, ensuring that they follow a programme of training and development.

  25.  Funding is provided through the "Step into Sport" programme but like many other funding programmes there is no certainty of the level of funding from year to year or even its continuance. The role of the volunteer is critical to grass roots sport as is the finance to provide the necessary training.

ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY

  26.  Swimming has a vital role to play in the promotion of healthy living, the prevention of illness, the treatment of illness and disability and social development and interaction amongst people of all ages. However the problems for many people who would wish to swim are those of accessibility and affordability, which we consider, are linked.

  27.  We welcome therefore the initiatives to provide free swimming for children which, if correctly managed, can help develop the habit of exercise. To help develop this habit of exercise, however, we believe that there should be an element of structure and progression through appropriate pathways in these schemes in order to maintain interest. Whilst obviously we would wish to see an increase in the numbers taking up competitive swimming as an activity, we also see the progression element as being an opportunity to introduce children to a wide range of water based activities in the safe environment of the swimming pool.

  28.  We also welcome the initiatives, which are under consideration, regarding the extension of free swimming to older people for whom swimming is ideally suited, putting very little strain on the body.

  29.  We see these initiatives as positive moves but we still have concerns relating to our swimming clubs. Whilst the inquiry is about grass roots sport we believe this includes all our clubs, apart from those at Elite Level, the large majority of whose membership is under 16 years of age.

  30.  Clubs have difficulty in obtaining access to pools in relation to suitable times of the day and also the number of hours available for hire. Many clubs are working towards a national club accreditation standard that is compatible with Sport England's Club mark scheme, however to reach standards set, clubs find it difficult to access appropriate pool time.

  31.  The solution lies in sympathetic management but in many instances commercial pressures prevail. Or there is a sad lack of understanding as to how clubs offer a community service.

  32.  Commercial considerations also prevail over social gain in regard to affordability with the hire of a standard 25 metre by 6 lane pool for an hour varying with different local authorities from a low of around £25 where swimming is seen as a community service to over £100 where "bottom line" finance prevails. Whilst it would be wrong to generalise there is some evidence that higher charges prevail where public pools are managed by commercial undertakings.

  33.  We understand that consideration is being given to making free swimming for children more widely available and we would suggest that this consideration should be coupled with the role of clubs and how those clubs with a large number of children in their membership could also benefit from some system of concessions.

PROMOTION

  34.  Raising awareness is crucial to changing behaviour—people need to understand that sport is good for them and have an appreciation of how they can get involved. The three countries that have demonstrated consistent increases in participation rates in physical activity over significant periods of time (Canada, New Zealand and Finland) have all benefited from the imaginative, consistent, sustained and well-funded deployment of marketing campaigns to stimulate a culture of physical activity.

  35.  The potential of concerted awareness and information campaigns to encourage more positive attitudes to health issues has been demonstrated by the anti-smoking campaign. This was supported by clear and unambiguous messages about the dangers of smoking. We believe that in addition to government campaigns regarding exercise there should be targeted campaigns on specific activities such as swimming.

  36.  However, the raising of awareness should be accompanied by access to appropriate and affordable opportunities in well designed, safe environments, supported by a high quality workforce.

SUMMARY

  37.  The ASA believes that sport has an immense role to play in improving people's lives—providing fun, exercise, better health and a way out for those caught up in crime and drugs. Learning to swim is a gateway to many sporting activities and a pre-requisite for life long participation.

  38.  We welcome the support given by the government to swimming, without which many of the improvements now taking place would not have been possible. Nevertheless we have concerns which are set out in this paper and may be summarised as follows:

    Learn to swim

    —  Funding pressures on school swimming.

    —  The need for public and private facilities for swimming tuition to meet national performance criteria.

    Lifelong Participation

    —  The need for adequate investment in facilities.

    —  The need for investment in staff and volunteer training with direct access to Learning & Skills Council funding nationally where appropriate.

    —  The need to ensure appropriate pathways for health related swimming and personal development from free swimming initiatives.

    —  The need to ensure appropriate access at reasonable costs for club swimming.

    Funding

    —  The Whole Sport Plan has assisted with flexibility but the level of funding is sometimes only confirmed for a year at a time. A rolling plan with forecasts of grant is needed.

4 April 2005





 
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