ASA TO BUILD ON SCHOOL SWIMMING REPORT
The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has welcomed the findings
of an Ofsted report into school swimming and has vowed to
continue to work with all parties involved to ensure even
more children are able to swim well by the age of 11.
The report into the quality and provision of swimming in
schools, detailing numbers of children reaching the required
Key Stage 2 standard of swimming 25m unaided, says that 83%
of 11-year-olds are leaving primary school with the vital
life skill.
A top-up swimming programme, funded by the former Department
for Education and Schools, and implemented by School Sports
Partnerships in conjunction with the ASA, targets those unable
to reach the Key Stage 2 standard and has achieved a success
rate of over 60%.
ASA Chief Executive David Sparkes believes the report highlights
issues where further progress can be made but also welcomes
examples of best practice which will shape the future of the
programme.
"Swimming is a life skill, it can save lives and we
owe it to our children to get this right," said Sparkes.
"All involved in the provision of school swimming need
to work together to increase the time being given to swimming
in schools, the quality of the teaching in place and enabling
better access to facilities.
"The Ofsted report is helpful in shaping the future
of the top-up swimming programme as we move forward together
in improving the teaching of swimming in schools and the numbers
of children achieving the required standard.
"The report recognises the difficulty in engaging some
sections of the community in swimming but also highlights
the fact that it is possible and we will now look to build
a programme around these success stories within the research."
Sparkes believes work needs to be done around the best practice
examples contained within the report and the ASA will use
this to provide guidance and advice to School Sport Partnerships.
"The ASA will be looking at the good practice examples
and will promote this to be followed and adopted by School
Sport Partnerships," said Sparkes. "In particular,
the report highlights the need for swimming teachers to be
well trained and up to date, and this falls in line with the
work the ASA is doing in implementing the UK Coaching Certificate.
"We have seen improvements in the numbers of children
learning to swim and achieving the required standard but we
also need to look to providing talented pupils with the opportunity
to develop swimming through close links between schools and
local clubs. The work emerging on schools competitions will
help towards this."
|
