State’s swim initiative a lifesaver
AS THE weather warms up and school goes back, we can expect to see permission slips for children’s swim lessons.
But as of next year, all Queensland state primary students will be taught vital swimming skills as part of an Australian-first program.
The initiative, announced by Education Minister Grace Grace, comes after the powerful Save Our Schoolkids (SOS) campaign, which revealed a stark decline in swimming ability. Under the plan to make Queensland the “Water Safe State”, students at all state primary schools will have a water safety and/or learn to swim program from 2019.
The Queensland Government will commit $3.68 million annually – an increase of $2.18 million per year – to expand swim programs.
Principals in remote locations will be given funding to fly in external providers, including lifesavers.
Teachers will also be upskilled so that water safety lessons can be taught in classrooms as well as pools.
All schools will be audited as part of the program, to see where improvements need to be made.
The SOS campaign was sparked by warnings from experts about a generation of kids who couldn’t swim to save themselves.
The Courier-Mail ’s SOS campaign was backed by 45 other News Queensland publications, a range of swimming industry leaders, legendary coach Laurie Lawrence and swimming champions Emily Seebohm, Cate and Bronte Campbell, Brooke Hanson and Libby Trickett.