Should all kids get taught to swim?

Local TV

Across some parts of Wales, only a third of children know how to swim. Despite it being a part of the curriculum, many local authorities do not teach kids to swim in schools, so we’re asking people if they’d like to see more emphasis getting kids in the water.

Transcript

00:00Swimming is one of those things that just feels like a rite of passage for kids,

00:05being able to swim with their friends or on holiday.

00:08But Wales has some of the lowest rates of swimming ability across the UK.

00:12While some areas have higher rates, some places in Wales like Cardiff

00:15say that only roughly a third of kids are able to swim,

00:18unless they're given the opportunity in schools.

00:20That's despite it officially being a part of the curriculum in schools.

00:24The amount of swimming lessons afforded to primary and secondary kids, though,

00:28are different across local authorities.

00:30So we're asking people here in Newport

00:32if they think that all kids should be given a fair shot at learning to swim at school.

00:37Well, yeah. Yeah, definitely.

00:41I was lucky enough to be taught to swim when I was 11. So, yeah.

00:53Wherever we learn swimming, that's a good thing.

00:57For the kids, for the human, we need to learn swimming.

01:00Like, it's necessary. I'm from India. Like, I'm from India from the south side.

01:10We are from the lake and the seas and everywhere.

01:12But sometimes there will be floods and all. So, if my kid knows swimming,

01:19she will, like, that's a helpful thing if the flood comes in. You know what I mean?

01:25I mean, obviously we do, because we might need that in the future.

01:30Like, let's say, we might fall in the sea or something.

01:34If they don't know how to swim, then, yeah, peak. They're dead.

01:36Or if they go swimming with their friends or something, if they don't know how to swim,

01:40and they do, then, yeah, we're not going to have fun with them.

01:42So, obviously, it's because we need that, yeah.

01:45I think that at least for one topic, like, every year there should be at least one or two terms,

01:51like, where you learn swimming in PE, or where, like, you're swimming based,

01:58or at least a couple lessons a year, because I know that in my school,

02:01I'm in year 10 now. I'm going up to year 10.

02:05And I've only ever had two swimming lessons in my secondary school,

02:09which I think there should have been more of,

02:11because I know that a lot of my friends don't know how to swim.

02:14People here today have made two clear points. It's a matter of safety, and it's just fun.

02:19People have said overwhelmingly that kids should have swimming lessons,

02:22and it's not always easy to offer it all across Wales.

02:25I think they should push further than they get, because I think, like you say,

02:28the safety aspect as well, with the open water and hot weather.

02:33If you can't swim, you're in a bit of a situation.

02:37I think that it's important for people to know how to swim,

02:40because you never know if you're going to get into a place where you've fallen off a boat

02:44or something like that, and you need to survive,

02:46if you might miss out on opportunities,

02:49you might not be able to go out with your friends as much if they go swimming or something.

02:52It's just a thing that I think people would enjoy more than anything else,

02:56and it would be a good thing to know for people.

02:58Go and do reviews of what people have done.

03:00Be做 it.

03:01Be fair!

03:02Go, go, go.

03:04Go, go, go.

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