CARRUM Downs pupils will be among the first in Victoria to learn life-saving swimming skills as part of a new state government program to be trialled at Frankston’s Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre (PARC).
About 200 pupils in grade 5 and 6 from Banyan Fields Primary School will take part in ten swimming lessons to learn “survival skills” such as treading water, floating, rescue strategies and basic CPR.
The program aims to help children deal with emergencies, such as unexpectedly falling into water.
Lessons at the PARC will take place before school hours next year and the pupils’ swimming abilities will be assessed to set a benchmark against state and national standards.
A similar trial by Life Saving Victoria in Shepparton in May found nearly 90 per cent of students improved in at least one practical swimming skill by the end of the trial and 84 per cent had learned how to float in water.
The government’s move to possibly make before or after school swimming lessons compulsory comes in the wake of a coroner’s report into the drowning death of 9-year-old Seaford boy, Bailey Patman, off Frankston beach in January 2012 (‘Drowning death lessons for all’, The Times 22/6/15).
Coroner Caitlin English agreed with a Life Saving Victoria 2013 report Sink or Swim: the state of Victorian primary school children’s swimming ability recommending swimming and water safety be taught as “a compulsory skill” as part of every Victorian primary school’s curriculum.
“Losing a child to drowning is an absolute tragedy and we want to make sure our kids have the skills they need to stay safe in the water,” Emergency Services Jane Garrett said in a statement announcing the trial swim lessons at PARC.
PARC CEO Tim Gledhill hoped all children in Frankston can have the opportunity to learn to swim by the time they finish grade 6.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with LSV on this program, as well as delivering an effective swimming program for Banyan Fields Primary School next year.
“Our ultimate aim, with the support of LSV and government, is to confirm a series of pilot programs for long term implementation to help determine best practise swimming program curriculum, including duration and lesson mix to help improve the swimming capabilities of all children.”
An estimated 60 per cent of children in Victoria leave primary school unable to swim the length of an Olympic-sized pool of 50 metres according to LSV statistics.
