Scottish Swimming SPPA Conference 2014 Start Swimming before you Start School Fiona Paterson
Scottish Swimming Scottish Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming in Scotland and our vision is that ‘every child can swim’ Start to Swim Pathway Aqua Natal Adult and Child Pre-school
Early Years Swim Teacher Qualification Pre-requisite – UKCC L2 Swimming teachers or equivalent Course Info • Pre-course work • 3 day tutor lead course • 4 theoretical 2 practical assessments • Candidate funding available through SAAS
Early Years Swim Bags Parent Education • Activity cards: 0 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 12 to 24 months, 24 to 36 months and Preschool. • Each card has top tips and activities which a parents can do at home in the bath or at the pool to encourage water confidence, play and social bonding between parent and child. • In addition the bag includes a few small toys which can be used in the bath or in the pool.
Start Swimming Before You Start School! How it started • 30% of children in Scotland leave school unable to swim. A high percentage of those who can’t swim live in socially deprived areas. • Addressing health inequalities in 2010/11, 21.4% of Primary 1 children were classified as overweight, including 9.6% obese and 5.5% severely obese • http://youtu.be/eT3u5hpbNr8?list=PL0TY7qdnDKAm9FYk RiWddsoT5qJUbOx1F
Bonding Confidence Fun Play Play Life skill
Start Swimming Before You Start School! Family Nurse Partnership Program • Scottish Swimming and the NHS Lothian Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) have worked in collaboration to provide quality swimming provision to young first times parents • By implementing a swimming element into their already established program we have been able to introduce the children and their parents to swimming at a key age • The parent education was delivered in two forms • Parent education • Structured lessons
Results and Impact • 95% of parents felt more confident in the water with their children and some had taken them swimming out-with the lesson. • 100% of children’s water confidence had improved greatly and the children completed the fundamentals of swimming for the age range thus helping to improve their balance and motor skills. • Improved what some might perceive as a simple task like bath time. For some parents this was a stressful and dreaded part of the day which then lead onto to an even more stressful bedtime. The lessons provided parents and children with enjoyment and confidence in the water which then transferred to a happy and fun bath time at home.
What's Next….. • The program is still continuing in the Lothian's area • We have had positive discussions with other health boards to implement in their areas • Work with partners to secure funding to roll out nationally
Start Swimming Before You Start School! Falkirk Community Trust Pre-school Program • Scottish Swimming and Falkirk Community Trust worked collaboratively to engage 40 children from Bowhouse and 30 children from Kinneil nurseries and provide them with structured lessons • The Swimming coordinators attended the nurseries, delivered an information session to parents and handed out Sammie the Salmon Preschool swim bags
Results and Impact • Prior to the lessons starting, 83.1% of children had never been to a structured lesson • 79.6% had little or no confidence in the water • 41.6% have continued into mainstream swimming lessons • 58.4% who did transition into mainstream swimming for example if finance was a barrier ‘ ‘ Really impressed with how well Isla’s swimming has improved from swimming underwater to swimming up the deep end without arm bands (my heart was in my mouth that day) and all without armbands. Well done this is a great thing to be doing with the kids. Thank you we will continue to go swimming and encourage her more.’
What's Next….. • Offer preschool swimming again with the addition of another nursery • Look at a sustainable model to enable the program to be rolled out to other nurseries
Any Questions?
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