
<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-1234" src="http://schoolnewsnz.fastrackdev.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/SND11-wk4-Water_safety_300x225.jpg" alt="SND11-wk4-Water safety 300x225" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" width="300" height="225" />Many children from poorer backgrounds are missing out on developing swimming and water safety skills as schools find it increasingly difficult to ensure all children get access to pools.</p>
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<p>NZEI Te Riu Roa National President Louise Green says swimming is part of the school curriculum but pool access is becoming an equity issue.</p>
<p>In the past decade around 20 per cent of schools that had pools have shut them down because they can&#8217;t afford the maintenance and compliance costs.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Ministry of Education does provide some funding towards school pool upkeep but it goes nowhere near the real cost of running a pool and that&#8217;s why schools have either closed their swimming pools down or had to go to their communities for funding,&#8221; Ms Green said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Obviously this hits poorer communities hardest. Many schools now send children to local community pools but this can also be a prohibitive cost. It places a big strain on schools as they have to work very hard to find sponsorship and other solutions.&#8221;</p>
<p>In Tauranga, Merivale School principal Jan Tinetti agrees that lack of affordability is a major barrier for swimming and water safety lessons for many children.</p>
<p>She said students at her decile 1 school had missed out on swimming and water safety lessons for two years because of the cost.</p>
<p>&#8220;Until we secured sponsorship through Water Safety NZ and charities, there was no way we could afford the $5 per child per session cost of swimming instruction at the community pool. And very few of our students were able to access private swimming lessons.&#8221;</p>
<p>She said through sponsorship students now received two weeks a year of lessons. But they still had a 2.4-kilometre walk to the pool each way to save the cost of bus fares.</p>
<p>&#8220;We concentrate on teaching about water safety because that&#8217;s the big risk for our kids. They mostly swim in rivers or in the sea.&#8221;</p>
<p>Louise Green said the Government needed to take this issue seriously because it once again highlighted the growing inequality in our schooling.</p>
<p>&#8220;All children should have access to swimming and water safety learning. It&#8217;s part of the curriculum and should not be overlooked by policymakers.&#8221;</p>

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