Swimming as part of the Primary Curriculum??

KittyeeTrix

Just curious to know if swimming is actually part of the primary school curriculum.

My daughter has been told that it is and her teacher wants 50e for her to take part. We would prefer that she not have to take part in this for a variety of reasons which are

• She can already swim very well as we regularly swim in the sea nad also at the local pool
• She doesn't actually want to as she said it was as boring as hell
• Money is severly tight at the moment:(

So, does she have to go swimming??

lazygal

I would question whether it is. Is it the case that children are bussed or walked to a pool? I know my old school put a lot of pressure on parents to sign up for swimming classes because those who didn't participate would have to be supervised in school, which was a hassle, but still not a reason for a non-curriculum activity. Contact the principle and ask what the policy is and whether alternative school activity will take place during swimming time.

thesimpsons

swimming is not part of the curriculum but aquatics is. A school can cover the aquatics portion of the curriculum without ever going to a pool because in its infinite wisdom the dept of ed did realise that most schools don't have a pool or even easy access to one. we had massive arguments with my kids in primary school too cos they were well able to swim lengths, the school classes were usually a fiasco and waste of money due to swim teachers spending so much time on fixing goggles, hats, shouting at kids to make them listen/heard, etc. I have yet to come across a child who has actually learned to swim in the 6 weeks of lessons that most schools seem to provide. Added to that the usual body issues that 11/13yrs olds often have, and it made the changing rooms a nightmare. the only issue with schools though is that if they have made the swimming compulsory, is what to do with the children who don't go.

KittyeeTrix

thesimpsons wrote: »

the only issue with schools though is that if they have made the swimming compulsory, is what to do with the children who don't go.

Not sure but it's a waste of time, money and effort in our case.

My husband is a stay at home Dad and the primary school is rural (2 mins from our door) so he could take her home if that was allowed. Probably isn't though:)

KittyeeTrix

lazygal wrote: »

I would question whether it is. Is it the case that children are bussed or walked to a pool? .

They are bussed to the pool as we live in a rural area!

lazygal

KittyeeTrix wrote: »

They are bussed to the pool as we live in a rural area!

I think this being described as compulsory is so the school won't have to organise supervision or other activities during this time for pupils not availing of it. I'd simply tell the school you do not wish your child to avail of this and let them sort it out. If the school hours are set times and something which is not part of the curriculum is taking place in which your child does not participate, the school has to make arrangments to accomodate this.

alleystar

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

I did swimming in my old primary school, although we were only expected to pay around 1.50 a week. Some people were excused with notes and just sat near the pool watching.

50 euro is way too much to be expecting parents to be paying in a recession. And if she already knows how to swim and doesn't want to go then what's the point?

dambarude

Learning to swim is explicitly mentioned in the PE Curriculum, under the Aquatics strand. It's not true to say the strand can be completely covered by never going near a pool, it specifically says:

The child should be enabled to:
-Enter the water
-Climb out of the water
-Walk in shallow water
-Jump, side-step or run across the pool
-Practise balance, rotation and recovery exercises with and without float
-Develop a selection of swimming strokes.
etc.

And there are many more objectives than that.

You can't teach those in the classroom. The DES provides no specific funding for covering this aspect of the curriculum, yet expects schools to plan for and include it.

kob29

€50 for 6 weeks/hours of swimming. One to one private lessons would be cheaper than that. Question it....make them think!

Trotter

kob29 wrote: »

€50 for 6 weeks/hours of swimming. One to one private lessons would be cheaper than that. Question it....make them think!

€8.50 for a bus to the pool, swimming lesson and bus back. It's not outrageous but what is is the departments expectations that children can tick all the curriculum boxes for aquatics without it costing parents money.

Where have you seen a private lesson for an hour for €8.50? Everything doesn't have to be turned into a "make them think" anti school thing. The curriculum is handed to schools. Schools have to implement it. It's compulsory. If that's the charge assuming the school has shopped around if there's more than one option then they can't do much more than that.

Ours is subsidised by parents council fundraising. The lessons are excellent and there's a big take up rate. I suppose it depends on the staff at the pool.

KittyeeTrix

My problem is that she can swim very well. Has spent every summer out at the diving boards in Salthill Galway jumping from them and swimming the fair distance to the rafts....

She doesn't need or want the swimming lessons....

Orion

You cannot be forced to pay for it or even attend it. If you don't want to participate then the school is obliged to arrange supervision. This will probably be doing her homework in another classroom but supervision is supervision.

As far as I can remember the aquatics section is not compulsory - just like dance or gymnastics. It is dependant on facilities being available and parental permission. If you refuse permission to attend then the school must facilitate you.

E.T.

Orion wrote: »

You cannot be forced to pay for it or even attend it. If you don't want to participate then the school is obliged to arrange supervision. This will probably be doing her homework in another classroom but supervision is supervision.

As far as I can remember the aquatics section is not compulsory - just like dance or gymnastics. It is dependant on facilities being available and parental permission. If you refuse permission to attend then the school must facilitate you.

Aquatics, dance and gymnastics are all part of the curriculum and have to be taught. Swimming in a swimming pool is a grey area. Paying for a dance or gymnastics teacher is not compulsory for any parent but the strands dance and gymnastics have to be taught.