Here at the ASA we’re taking school swimming seriously, are you? The School Swimming Charter has been developed by the ASA – not a faceless organisation but real people who are committed to helping save lives by ensuring children are safe in the water.
Here at the ASA we’re taking school swimming seriously, are you?
The School Swimming Charter has been developed by the ASA – not a faceless organisation but real people who are committed to helping save lives by ensuring children are safe in the water.
The ASA is inviting primary schools to join in partnership with them to commit to Taking School Swimming Seriously.
It is the ASA’s unique responsibility to collaborate with primary schools and provide the necessary support and training required to deliver high quality swimming lessons, with the goal of not only meeting but exceeding the national curriculum minimum standards set down by the Department for Education.
While the ASA is well aware that many schools have already paid significant attention to swimming as part of their scheduling and are achieving excellent results, it is clear that many more are struggling to provide an effective school swimming programme. Unfortunately, still more primary schools do not even offer school swimming at Key Stage 2.
The ASA will do all they can to support schools to ensure that as many children as possible leave primary school able to swim at least 25 metres unaided and are knowledgeable and safe around water.
In partnership with the ASA, schools will be able to state: “We’re taking school swimming seriously”.
Why should my school sign up?
Your school will receive a pack of specialised school swimming resources, including a range of eight different Award certificates, badges and stickers, a National Curriculum Resource Pack giving definitive guidance on curriculum swimming, Waterproof Guidance Cards for poolside use, School Swimming Passports for each child to record their achievements, and much more…find out more here
By signing up to the ASA School Swimming Charter and improving standards of swimming teaching and assessment:
- Your pupils… will feel positive recognition of their progress in swimming as they are rewarded for reaching milestones
- Your school… will have a guarantee that if you deliver our recommendations, you will comply with national curriculum requirements
- Your staff… will feel motivated and valued by receiving substantial support and specialised resources on how to teach swimming
- Parents … will be reassured that you are taking action to improve school swimming and will be kept up-to-date on their child’s swimming attainment levels and successes
Using the Sport Premium to enable high quality swimming provision
Ensuring teachers are confident in teaching all aspects of Physical Education is vitally important for providing the right opportunities for all of your pupils. But according to recent research by Sport England, only 20% of teachers rate their confidence in teaching PE in the top three of their subjects and for half of teachers it is in the bottom six.
Swimming is one of the most important forms of physical activity for pupils to learn. Not only does it give all of the health benefits provided by other sports, but it is a skill that could one day save their life.
The PE and Sport Premium is available to help primary schools improve the quality of their PE provision. Swimming is a statutory part of the national curriculum so it’s very important that schools make sure the teaching staff who are involved in school swimming are both competent and confident, to enable them to provide high quality school swimming lessons.
The ASA School Swimming Charter provides primary schools with training and resources to help teachers gain this essential confidence and knowledge – find out more about the School Swimming Charter here.
For more information about using the Sport Premium to train your staff for school swimming lessons, check out the ASA FAQs here.
You can also download our advice document here
