School Swimming

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School fun gala at new Hengrove Park Leisure Centre

The new 50m Hengrove Park swimming pool was the venue for the Ashton Park School Sport Partnership swimming gala on Wednesday, 25 April 2012.

Over 150 pupils from 10 primary schools competed in the gala. The new 50m pool can very cleverly divide into deep and shallow pools so the gala included a mixture of traditional stroke races in the deep pool along with races in the shallow pool to accommodate developing swimmers. There were even fun ‘cross pool’ relays involving rafts, balls and floats, which the children loved.

For more information visit the Ashton Park School Sport Partnership website.

Swimming is part of the National Curriculum

By the time children go to secondary school they should be able to swim 25m and undertake other swimming challenges.

Primary and junior schools in Bristol swim mainly in the pools and leisure centres managed by Sport and Leisure Management Limited (SLM)  and Parkwood Leisure on behalf of Bristol City Council. The school swimming lessons are taught by highly qualified swimming teachers.

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Information for parents

What you should know before your child goes swimming with the school:

Swimming kit

  • girls - one piece costume
  • boys - no baggy shorts
  • towel
  • hair band or swimming hat if hair is long.

On the day, your child needs to bring his/her swimming clothes in a bag. Don't wear costumes under clothes, as they can feel quite sweaty. Remind your child to bring the wet swimming clothes home for washing.

Goggles

If your child wears goggles, please let him/her know that there will be some activities that they will have to do without their goggles. This is important for personal safety lessons, so that they will learn to be confident in an emergency.

Jewellery

The rule is no jewellery in the pool. This is for your child's own safety. If your child has recently pierced ears, then he/she should wear a swimming hat to protect them.

Hair and hats

If your child's hair is long enough then it must be tied back. If the front is long enough to get into the eyes then it must be clipped back. Swimming hats are a great solution for both boys and girls.

Feet

Make sure that your child knows that feet must be dried properly - between ALL the toes. This is to prevent athlete's foot, which is a fungal infection that likes warm damp skin. If your child has athlete's foot it needs to be treated. Current medical opinion is that children with veruccas can still swim, and that treatment is necessary only if the verucca is painful.

The toilet and shower

All children should use the toilet before getting into the pool. If your child needs to go to the toilet during the lesson, then they must tell their class teacher before they go and report back to the same person when they come back.

All children should go through the showers before getting in the pool. If your child wears hair gel or other cosmetics, this should be showered off.

Helping with school swimming

Most schools will welcome offers of help with school swimming - they will require you to submit  a check with the Criminal Records Bureau. If you would like to undertake some training in order to help with school swimming, please ask your school to contact the schools swimming development officer.

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Information for school teachers

Vital information

Make sure the swimming teacher has all the information required for the children to have the best and safest possible swimming lesson. Inform the swimming teacher of any:

  • Medical information/illnesses/medication including ashthma, grommets, epilepsy or any illness which may affect any of the children during the class
  • Children with limited English language skills
  • Any issues of nervousness or phobias.

Download: Further information for school teachers about school swimming (pdf, 20 KB)

National Curriculum

Swimming forms part of the National Curriculum and there are level descriptions for Key Stage 1 and 2. The expected attainment for the majority of pupils at the end of the key stage 2 is level 4 with the great majority of pupils expected to work with levels 2-5. Please refer to the ASA National Curriculum Resource Pack for swimming and water safety for details of the level descriptions under the headings:

  • Acquiring and developing skills
  • Selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas
  • Evaluating and improving performance
  • Knowledge and understanding of fitness and health.

Many other resources are available from the schools swimming development officer, including games, advice and information on cross circular links, worksheets and web links.

Resources

Free National Curriculum courses

Bristol City Council runs free National Curriculum courses for teachers who are involved with their school's swimming programme. For details of the next course, please contact the schools swimming development officer.

Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) guidance advice for school swimming

For information and guidance on school swimming according to ASA guidelines please download the booklet below.
Download: ASA guidance for school swimming (pdf, 369 KB)

If you are a qualified swimming teacher with an interest in teaching school swimming, please contact our schools swimming development officer.

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Information for swimming teachers

Resources

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Swimming clubs in Bristol

Bristol based swimming club websites:

Girl swimming

Contact information

Schools swimming development officer

4th Floor, Brunel House

St George Road

Bristol, BS1 5UY

Date for review:  16/11/2012 | Short link: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/node/1733
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