Hundreds of Kiwi school children will be safer in and around the water this summer thanks to Youthtown.
Funding from Youthtown will allow students from schools in Hamilton, Taupo, Christchurch, Greymouth and the Waitaki District to undergo a Learn to Swim programme during the lead-up to the holiday season.
Shirley Primary School in Christchurch is one of the schools set to benefit from the funding. Principal Geoff Siave says the programme is a much needed initiative.
“It’s really shocking the number of children coming through who can’t swim or lack confidence in the water,” he says.
“Last year I offered rewards to students who could swim 200m in our school pool. Virtually no one could do it.”
Alan Reid, national projects manager for Youthtown, says the Learn to Swim funding is a pilot scheme he hopes to see grow and strengthen moving forward.
“Even though we’re a country surrounded by beaches and waterways, only a handful of kids in New Zealand really know how to swim.
“Programmes like this will help rectify that,” he says.
Mr Reid says the programme will focus on entry-level swimming and water safety skills.
“At the end of the programme, the goal is for participants to feel comfortable around the water and know what to do if they ever find themselves in trouble,” he says.
Mr Siave says there a number of causes contributing to the large number of school children unable to swim.
“I believe the increasing closure of school pools around New Zealand is a real problem,” he says.
“Another cause could be that teachers are no longer taught how to teach swimming when they’re undergoing their training.”
