Swim lessons out as drownings rise
THE number of young people drowning is rising – at the same time as schools are battling to keep their pools open.
Wellington is one of the worstaffected regions for pool closures, with 26 of 48 having closed over the past two decades.
Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Matt Claridge said 40 per cent of primary school pupils were leaving school without the basic confidence needed to survive in the water.
Combined with at least two out of three schools having to travel to use a swimming pool, he said the chances of children never learning the skills required to ‘‘be a Kiwi’’ was alarming.
‘‘In an ideal world, every school would have its own pool, because the swimming pool is a classroom.’’
He said Water Safety NZ had put in a lot of work over the past three years to get more children learning basic water skills.
‘‘We don’t have to teach 5-yearolds how to do the butterfly stroke, we just want them learning how to float and tread water, and way they will be safer.’’
Solway Primary School in Masterton is on the verge of losing its school pool because of the cost to upgrade it and the lack of funding to run it.
Principal Gail Marshall said the pool had been in operation for more than 20 years but now had a leak and needed to be relined.
The school had been active about making sure everyone could swim competently because of the amount of time the school community spent around rivers and beaches.
that
If the school could not raise the $40,000 needed for maintenance, it would probably close the pool at the end of this year.
‘‘At the moment, through the operational grant, we receive $695 a year to run the pool and that wouldn’t even pay for the chemicals to clean it, let alone anything else.’’
Ministry of Education head of education infrastructure Kim Shannon said all children got an opportunity through their school to learn basic aquatic skills by the end of year 6, whether at a school pool or off-site.
‘‘The ministry provides funding through the operations grant, which can be used to either run and maintain an existing pool, or paying for entry charges and transport cost to a local community pool.’’
She said current policy was not to provide pools in new schools, or replace ones that needed upgrading.
‘‘This is because the use of community swimming pools provides a safer swimming environment, better year-round facilities, and a more supported learning environment to students.’’