TOP UP SWIMMING DELIVERS IMPRESSIVE RESULTS
A pioneering Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and Department
for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) initiative aiming
to reduce the number of children unable to swim is celebrating
a successful first year in existence.
Top Up Swimming provides intensive coaching over a two-week
period to ensure that more children are able to swim the minimum
standard of 25m by the end of Key Stage 2, or Years 3-6.
With funding from the DCSF (formerly the Department for Education
and Skills) the ASA alongside the School Sports Partnerships
has been able to ensure that 44,246 children have now received
Top Up Swimming sessions in its first year with 100,000 participants
expected by July 2008.
With drowning being the third highest cause of accidental
death in children, lessons such as these will help lower the
national figures while developing water confidence and teaching
important life skills.
Sessions are normally delivered with 10 lessons over a 10-day
period for a minimum of 30 minutes each day.
The programme has helped a number of schools around the country
to significantly increase the number of children achieving
the national curriculum standard.
Stoke Park Junior School in Hampshire experienced success
with the scheme and a high proportion of children exceeded
the assessment criteria with a number of pupils swimming 200m
after their intensive tuition.
Pupils who did not meet the standard were deemed, however,
to have become more confident and at ease in the water.
A total of 419 School Sport Partnerships have now begun to
deliver the programme and ASA PE School Sports Links Manager
Jon Glenn is pleased with the results so far.
"The ASA has received encouraging feedback from the
programme and we're delighted with its progress so far. There
are many reasons why children don't achieve the Key Stage
2 standard such as water phobia and body image issues but
Top Ups has enabled many of these children to overcome these
fears," said Glenn.
"We must now continue to work closely with the School
Sport Partnerships to ensure we reach our target of 100,000
schoolchildren by July 2008 and continue to offer the highest
quality programme."
ASA Chief Executive David Sparkes the reiterated importance
of school swimming to children for a healthier lifestyle.
"It is critically important today that children receive
the right introduction to swimming through schools, "said
Sparkes.
"This is especially important to the fight against childhood
obesity which is a key Government target. Top Ups is demonstrating
it can target to hard-to-reach children in society and give
them an important introduction to a more active lifestyle."
DCSF Minister for PE and School Sport Kevin Brennan was keen
to express his thoughts.
"Swimming is a life-long skill which is why the Department
is keen to support swimming via the Top Up programme at a
cost of £5.5 million. The Top Up programme has played
its part in getting more children learning to swim towards
the end of their primary school years.
"There are a host of reasons why children haven't learnt
to swim through normal Curriculum lesson time, and so Top
Up helps to provide that extra level of support. Without it,
tens of thousands of children would still be non-swimmers."
By the end of Key Stage 2, children should be able to swim
unaided for a sustained period of time over a distance of
at least 25m and use recognised arm and leg actions on the
front and back. Youngsters should also use a range of recognised
strokes and personal survival skills speed and distance swimming
challenges.
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