Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by The ASA (Amateur Swimming Association)

1. The ASA

1.1 The ASA is the National Governing Body for swimming in England. Its aim is to encourage more people to swim, and have fun swimming more often. It operates a world renowned learn to swim programme and award scheme that has taught millions of children to swim.

1.2 The ASA has worked with the government and schools in delivering school swimming since 1906 and, over 100 years of involvement, has seen school swimming become universal in England. The case for swimming is compelling. It offers safety to our children and young people; we can use swimming as a springboard to better health; and, with the acquired skill of competent swimming, we can offer opportunities in other walks of life. These opportunities span from equipping people for occupations in which swimming is a requirement to offering a skill set for taking part in over 20 other sports and physical activities.

1.3 The ASA believes that it is a fundamental right for all children to be able to learn to swim. Swimming whilst at school plays a major part in this learning experience. We often hear that swimming is a life experience. It is, however, so much more than that. We prefer to think of swimming as also being a life preserving experience. Making our children safe is a duty incumbent on us all.

2. Key Facts

Swimming is a compulsory part of the current National Curriculum for PE and will remain a compulsory part of the new curriculum. The ASA calls on schools to deliver this curriculum subject to ensure that all pupils get an opportunity to swim at primary schools.

The ASA welcomes the additional funding allocation of 150 million which is ring fenced for primary schools. However some schools are not delivering and we call on them to prioritise this funding for school swimming. Where schools have poor KS2 Attainment levels in swimming and water safety, we call on them to provide additional “top up” lessons to ensure pupils can swim and have water safety knowledge.

The government’s support for school swimming has been consistent, but the quality, content and hours of study have been in general poor and not met.

Even as an aquatic sport we would support our NGB partners in stressing the importance of physical literacy, these fundamental skills are as relevant to aquatics as to other sports.

All primary school teachers are qualified to deliver “school swimming” so it is essential that adequate time is allocated as part of teacher training to ensure that they have the basic skills to assist or lead swimming lessons. The current provision is either poor or non-existent.

The government’s announcement that Ofsted monitor and evaluate the new investment in PE and School Sport is welcomed, but will not improve the delivery or highlight schools not delivering swimming. A specific inspection of physical education and swimming is required.

The ASA welcomes the continued support by government of the School Games and Schools Competition Framework. There is no doubt it has increased opportunities for pupils to participate in competitive sport. However it needs to be recognised that not all pupils can access these opportunities. The ASA has developed a non traditional “AquaSplash Festival” to try and engage with those pupils who may be turned off by the competitive nature of some sports.

3. School Swimming

“School for many is the first time young children engage in organised sport and for many it is their first visit to a swimming pool. It is essential that this first introduction is as ‘magical’ for the child as possible as it will, if handled correctly stimulate a passion and interest in swimming and sport which will stay with them throughout their lives and that passion will also be passed on to their children in turn. We have a responsibility for the children of today and tomorrow to get this right by presenting school swimming in an inspiring way.” (David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA).

4. The ASA Vision for School Swimming

4.1 The ASA’s vision for school swimming is: “To ensure that every child has the opportunity to participate in high quality school swimming linked to community programmes, delivered by appropriately qualified people in a safe environment”.

4.2 Swimming and water safety have a unique position within the physical education curriculum and school sport, being a life and life saving skill, opening access to a wide range of other water based activities and arguably being the best activity for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The teaching of water safety also has wider advantages in that it teaches children to be aware of dangers and to undertake simple but effective risk assessments and creates a culture of vigilance and awareness, which again is a life and lifesaving skill. In addition, most surveys rate swimming as the highest participation activity.ⁱ

4.3 A well planned and delivered swimming programme can make a positive contribution to high quality PE and school sport, healthy schools and engage young people in purposeful activity leading to sustained lifelong participation.

4.4 In November 2000, An Inspection Report on Standards and Provision in School Swimming in Key Stage 2 was published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).ⁱⁱ Given that swimming remained a compulsory element of the National Curriculum, the report consisted of a mix of qualitative judgment on the part of the inspectors as well as statistical evidence that paid particular attention to schools’ location and free school meal banding. The Ofsted inspection reviewed standards of pupils’ attainment as well as the progress and the quality of teaching and provision. National KS2 attainment levels were reported as 80%.

4.5 The ASA School Swimming Manifesto “Save School Swimming, Save Lives” aims to improve central and local government support for swimming and make school swimming lessons a priority. It is a six-point manifesto which provides a common purpose for all those involved in the planning, preparation and delivery of swimming in schools and enables the ASA to work with the relevant government departments to help provide solutions in areas of aquatic deprivation.

4.6 Research into school swimming conducted by the ASA and Kellogg’s in 2012ⁱⁱⁱ revealed that one in three children leave primary school unable swim, equating to two million non-swimmers over the next ten years if direct action is not taken. It also revealed that of the children unable to swim, nearly 40% had not been offered school swimming lessons. The research showed that KS2 Attainment Levels ranged from 91% to 40%. School Swimming provision is for many pupils the only opportunity they will get to learn to swim. Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death of children in England and school swimming is by far the most effective way to teach children how to be safe in and around water.

5. ASA Six Point School Swimming Manifesto

Every child learning to swim in primary school: The ASA believe that every child in England should have the opportunity to swim in primary school. By the end of Key Stage 2, each child should be safe in and around water and a key element of this is being able to swim a minimum of 25 metres unaided. We call on central and local government to show their commitment to school swimming by reiterating this expectation to schools.

Improve Training for Primary School Teachers: Before qualifying, all primary school teachers should be provided with at least six hours of aquatics and water safety training. The ASA is ready to work with the government on this to ensure that teachers are more confident in the delivery of swimming lessons as a statutory National Curriculum subject.

Robust monitoring of school swimming by Ofsted: We call on the government to instruct Ofsted to monitor the inclusion and delivery of swimming lessons as part of primary school inspections in Physical Education.

Swimming as a School Budget Priority: The ASA calls on Head Teachers to place swimming, which is a compulsory element of the National Curriculum, as one of their school budget priorities. This will help ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn this vital life saving skill and take the first steps to leading an active and healthy lifestyle.

Support at Secondary School Level: We call for support for the thousands of children in secondary schools who are unable to swim. Being unable to swim prevents young people from participating in not only swimming and aquatics, but also other water based activities such as canoeing, sailing and rowing. It also increases the risk of death by drowning. Those who do not learn at this age are likely to become one of the one in five adults who are unable to swim in the UK.

Help to Keep School Pools Open: The ASA is committed to working with the government to help keep school pools open, which are valuable not only for school swimming, but also community use. All schools considering the development or refurbishment of swimming facilities should consult the ASA to help develop a feasibility study, business case and pool design. Schools considering the closure of pools should also consult with the ASA before closure to fully investigate all the options available for the pool to remain open and support swimming in the local community.

6. Good Practice Case Study

6.1 As part of the ASA research in to the delivery of schools swimming we collect a number of live case studies on the challenges of delivering school swimming.

6.2 Manchester City Council’s School Swimming Programme is embedded into 122 of their 127 primary schools across the city. The programme is part of a wider package of high quality Sport and Physical Activity provision offered to all Manchester Schools by the City Council’s Sports Development Unit. The council has moved away from focusing on getting numbers through the door, and through a process of evaluating logistics, teaching and costs, Manchester has seen Key Stage 2 attainment figures increase year on year for the last three years.

6.3 Each year around 6,500 children are offered swimming lessons through the programme, which specifically targets Key Stage 2, Year 4 children. Lessons run over a 30 week period across a full academic year at a local swimming pool to help reduce transport costs. Various pilots have been carried out specifically to evaluate more intensive exposure over shorter time frames. However, due to factors such as a transient population, large class sizes of at least 30 children and a high proportion (18%) of children attending the programme with English as an additional language, a 30 week period of full class engagement has been found to be the best way to ensure higher attainment levels.

6.4 The teaching environment was further challenged as at the start of academic year 2011–12, it was recorded that 54% of children starting the school swimming programme had never entered a swimming pool before. This was partly due to the many socio-economic issues that affect children in Manchester such as low income families and lack of transport, which all create barriers that hinder access and exposure to swimming before any school provision is offered.

6.5 Despite these challenges Manchester City Council worked together with schools to put in place a number of solutions that resulted in a 21% increase in attainment levels in the last three years. In the academic year 2010–11, Manchester’s School Swimming Programme achieved a pass rate of 79% of pupils achieving National Teaching Plan Stage 3 and being able to swim 25 metres unaided. The council’s ambition for this academic year is to achieve a pass rate of 84%.^iv

7. Local Aquatic Networks: School Club Links

7.1 The ASA supports the policy of establishing satellite clubs in secondary schools. The government’s 2012 youth sport strategy recognised the importance of engaging young people in sport outside of school hours, creating hopefully a sporting habit for life. The school-club relationship is essential for the development of local aquatic networks which will help young people find an appropriate “club” for their level of ability or ambition.

7.2 A key outcome within the wider ASA strategy is to build strong club relationships within Local Aquatic Networks. Clubs will form a key strategic asset of Local Aquatic Networks, which will have clear business agreements between all stakeholders, including operators, schools, clubs and other organisations delivering swimming. The Club strategic objective is for clubs to sit at the heart of Local Aquatic Networks, ensuring that the swimmer, coach and volunteer pathway is provided through local cooperation and provision.

April 2013

References

ⁱ http://www.sportengland.org/research/active_people_survey/active_people_survey_6.aspx

ⁱⁱ http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/swimming-key-stage-2

ⁱⁱⁱ ASA School Swimming Manifesto and Research http://www.swimming.org/assets/uploads/library/ASA_School_Swimming_full_manifesto.pdf

^iv ASA School Swimming Manifesto and Research http://www.swimming.org/assets/uploads/library/ASA_School_Swimming_full_manifesto.pdf