Hawkes Bay kids above the national average

Students in the Hawkes Bay have swim skills above the national average thanks to their Swimming New Zealand trained school teachers.

In fact they are doing so well that many schools are upgrading their pools as they see the value of the students learning to swim. This is great to hear especially in a climate where many schools are ditching the school pool for various reasons.

Thirty eight per cent of children from the region taught by their teachers in the school pool are consistently achieving swimming for 25m whereas the national average is 28%.

All teachers in the Hawkes Bay receive annual swimming support through Swimming New Zealand’s national Kiwi Swim Safe programme. Those with school pools get the added bonus of poolside assistance from Swimming New Zealand Education Advisor Fiona Hurley.

Success stories are a plenty. In one school a class of new entrants were able to float solo after a season of time spent in the water with their teacher who showed patience, built trust and played games to build water confidence and skills.

Another tells the tale of a young fearful boy who finally got into the pool. It took five lessons for him to physically put his togs on and another two lessons for him to feel comfortable sitting on the side.

His teacher admitted that without the professional development from Swimming New Zealand, she would not have known what to do. However after learning about aquatic readiness and the steps to teaching swimming she felt comfortable with the process to assist this young swimmer gain confidence around the water.

Swimming New Zealand in conjunction with Sport Hawkes Bay and Water Safety New Zealand are giving every teacher and student in the Hawkes Bay access to water in the Hawkes Bay Swim and Survive project.

Schools that are involved in the Hawkes Bay Swim and Survive project using their own school pool now have the opportunity to partake in deep water survival lessons at a facility. This allows students to explore lifejacket and survival skills, non-contact rescues and experience swimming and water safety in deep water.

Coupled with classroom material provided by Swimming New Zealand the profect is ensuring these Hawkes Bay kids have more opportunities to be safer in their aquatic environments.

CAPTION: Henry Hill Primary school teacher delivering swim lessons in the school pool earlier in the year.