http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: "Hundreds of thousands of 11-year-olds leaving primary school unable to swim" en Sun, 17 May 2026 08:55:02 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112563 Fri, 31 May 2013 22:58:09 +0000 SRD 112563@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Seriously appalling* comments on the Glasgow version of what we will get in Leith thanks to our wonderful council. <a href="http://www.netmums.com/glasgow/local/view/indoor-play/soft-play/wonder-world-soft-play" rel="nofollow">http://www.netmums.com/glasgow/local/view/indoor-play/soft-play/wonder-world-soft-play</a></p> <p>*also appalling spelling </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112330 Thu, 30 May 2013 12:19:58 +0000 SRD 112330@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Statement from Splashback following council vote</p> <p><a href="http://splashbackedinburgh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/drained.html" rel="nofollow">http://splashbackedinburgh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/drained.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112283 Wed, 29 May 2013 23:45:52 +0000 Snowy 112283@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A pity. We used it perhaps every 3 months or so. Which doesn't sound a lot, but it adds up.</p> <p>Sounds like a bit of a brown envelope decision to me.</p> <p>Because after careful consideration, the council have decided that what Edinburgh lacks above all else is another soft play facility. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112277 Wed, 29 May 2013 22:54:16 +0000 chdot 112277@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.deceasedcanine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-sad-lessons-of-waterworld.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.deceasedcanine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-sad-lessons-of-waterworld.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112263 Wed, 29 May 2013 19:57:35 +0000 crowriver 112263@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Took my son to Waterworld when it was still open (and Scotmid alongside, not Tesco). My daughter hasn't been able to go, nor will she ever it seems. </p> <p>Sad. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112261 Wed, 29 May 2013 19:14:47 +0000 SRD 112261@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Everyone - do go read the comments on the counil leader's blog <a href="http://andrewburns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/leith-waterworld-progress-on-community.html" rel="nofollow">http://andrewburns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/leith-waterworld-progress-on-community.html</a></p> <p>and then send your own to him and to your councillors. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112223 Wed, 29 May 2013 13:29:24 +0000 steveo 112223@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>"£125,000 to fund swimming programmes for primary school children in Edinburgh "</em></p> <p>How magnanimous when they're getting over a million for the building. </p> <p><em>Showing yet again that they do not understand the difference between swimming lessons and play.</em></p> <p>indeed. Being able to swim should be an absolute minimum being able to enjoy the water such as at LWW should be a worthy enough goal. There is no where in Edinburgh where kids can play in the pool. They'll make their own entertainment in places like Dalry and the Commy but its not the same as flumes and a wave machine. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-112220 Wed, 29 May 2013 13:16:41 +0000 SRD 112220@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Council is proposing to sell the waterworld building and instead allocate "£125,000 to fund swimming programmes for primary school children in Edinburgh "</p> <p>Showing yet again that they do not understand the difference between swimming lessons and play.</p> <p><a href="http://andrewburns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/leith-waterworld-progress-on-community.html?spref=fb" rel="nofollow">http://andrewburns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/leith-waterworld-progress-on-community.html?spref=fb</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-98638 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:28:36 +0000 SRD 98638@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Twitter suggests that Waterworld may have been given new lease on life. </p> <p>Well done to all @Splashback </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-98087 Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:29:11 +0000 Smudge 98087@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have to confess, despite the best efforts of my parents and various coaches/instructors, to being a terrible swimmer. I can quite literally and truthfully *just* swim enough to save my life. </p> <p>Thanks to the parents etc however, I am confident in/around the water and have at various times operated safety boats, taught diving (the point is to sink so what hampers my swimming helps my diving ;-)) and canoed, sailed etc.</p> <p>As a minimum Smudge minor will learn to swim enough to save himself, hopefully he will inherit a little buoyancy from his mothers side of the family! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-98080 Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:07:59 +0000 kaputnik 98080@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>they could fill some of the holes in Leith Walk with water and learn there instead? Big Society, Big Potholes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-98078 Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:48:52 +0000 chdot 98078@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> 16,000 children cannot swim by the time they leave Edinburgh’s primary schools.</p> <p>"</p> <p><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/leith-waterworld-re-opening-plans-sunk-by-council-1-2761051" rel="nofollow">http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/leith-waterworld-re-opening-plans-sunk-by-council-1-2761051</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-71089 Fri, 18 May 2012 13:05:39 +0000 chdot 71089@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/edinburgh/group-gives-details-of-waterworld-cost-savings-plan-1-2303750" rel="nofollow">http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/edinburgh/group-gives-details-of-waterworld-cost-savings-plan-1-2303750</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-71027 Fri, 18 May 2012 09:06:42 +0000 steveo 71027@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I can attest to that, one evening after the swim club knocked off I was the only soul in the pool. The life guard continued their diligent duty despite the fact I'd have been too embarrassed to drown. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-71025 Fri, 18 May 2012 08:55:48 +0000 alibali 71025@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"...50% of drownings occur in swimming pools?" </p> <p>In Embra (and I think everywhere in Scotland) council pools the lifeguarding is excellent and continuous, even when swimming clubs are using the pool for training or competitions. </p> <p>In the private sector it's very different. </p> <p>I would imagine any country with a high proportion of private (and domestic) pools will produce a high "drowned in a pool" figure. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-71018 Fri, 18 May 2012 06:41:25 +0000 gembo 71018@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Swimming very well organised in Balerno. The community high school has a big pool that everyone can use.</p> <p>I moved here eleven years ago. My eldest child had a swimming party and it was a bit tense with plenty of parents in the water, around the pool.</p> <p>When my next child started having swimming p[arties it was just two kids we had to watch and doable with two parents in pool and one on sidelines</p> <p>last child pool party just me in water - all good swimmers by the 7th birthday.</p> <p>This is a direct result of the swimming lessons ongoing in the community high school that everyone buys into [in our wee middle class bubble].</p> <p>Swimming lessons kick in at the primary school in P3 - not sure there will be anyone in the P3 class who can't swim already? the lessons will be stroke development.</p> <p>@chdot - the stat 50% of drownings occur in swimming pools? Needs more teasing out. You do need a volume of water in which to drown but the lifeguards usually know what they are doing. I had a friend who died in the arlington baths in glasgow - heart attack.</p> <p>As we are on the topic does anyone know of a source of good ear plugs? I develop glue ear if the water gets in these days and last Monday the coach had me doing one armed front crawl so I shipped a lot of water and my brand new zoggs ear plugs in combo with rubber zoggs cap was useless. My head too big for standard caps? was looking at elastic cap in tesco last night - £8.97 and not looking very big but if super stretchy and one that wont ride up, it might be worth a punt </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70996 Thu, 17 May 2012 22:43:05 +0000 Dave 70996@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'll consider myself a failure if my kids can't swim *before* they go to school, never mind when they've been and left! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70896 Thu, 17 May 2012 13:50:45 +0000 wingpig 70896@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@cb Yes and no, respectively. Only been here since 1994. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70888 Thu, 17 May 2012 13:30:26 +0000 cb 70888@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@wingpig<br /> You changed outside to have swimming lessons in an outside pool? In Scotland? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70878 Thu, 17 May 2012 12:51:51 +0000 splitshift 70878@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>learning to swim should be life skill !<br /> you generally dont fall onto a cycle and find yourself on a road.<br /> Unfortunately from bitter experience of watching it happen , you do however fall into water, and drown.<br /> No swiming lessons avail to our primary school until p5, but after the above we were nearly all , bussed, at parents expense,(service bus, approx 5 miles to nearest cooncil pool) and taught !</p> <p>"i wish I didnt keep loosin my birds !"<br /> Scott </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70877 Thu, 17 May 2012 12:34:29 +0000 chdot 70877@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"There is a parallel with cycling in that the activity is somewhat split between "sport" and "leisure"."</p> <p>Very true.</p> <p>This is noticeable with the amount of money spent on high level athletes. </p> <p>I think at least with cycling there is much more awareness that 'cycling' is about transport/health/leisure/wellbeing/independence/etc. and so may become 'higher priority'.</p> <p>Though of course it means it's not 'just' "sport" and "leisure" anymore, so harder to pigeonhole! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70868 Thu, 17 May 2012 12:07:49 +0000 alibali 70868@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>There is a parallel with cycling in that the activity is somewhat split between "sport" and "leisure".</p> <p>The sport of swimming is very much alive and well in Scotland and elsewhere with hundreds of children and adults training and competing at all levels every week. There are active clubs with trained coaches and swim teachers too.</p> <p>Unfortunately, that doesn't cross over into leasure swimming much and may actually inhbit leasure swimming but puting people off (I could never do that...) and tying up resources. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70853 Thu, 17 May 2012 10:37:07 +0000 chdot 70853@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I'm frankly shocked by this - learning to swim should be one of those 'basic life skills' things."</p> <p>You mean like cycling on the road?</p> <p>It used to be the case that swimming was almost compulsory in school and taught by <em>paid</em> trainers. </p> <p>I have been trying to get a similar situation for cycling for years. </p> <p>It seemed odd to prioritise swimming over cycling - where the latter is likely to involve more people, more often (and more likely unsupervised).</p> <p>Saw a stat this morning on an America site which said 50% of drownings were in swimming pools - and another big category was babies in baths. So, stats... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70851 Thu, 17 May 2012 10:35:08 +0000 wingpig 70851@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wonder to what extent access to facilities can be cited/blamed?</p> <p>I remember being stunned when we did swimming at primary school how incompetent some of my classmates were, particularly when a 'sporty' child turned into a thrashing blob of panic in the water. The teacher didn't help (evil, shouty, by all appearances incapable of swimming herself) and being forced to change outside (next to the pool, which was also outside) with only a distant fence to shield us from eyes and wind might not have helped either, but I think everyone came out of it at least able to keep themselves afloat for a few minutes at a time. If there hadn't been a pool in the village (and one which was only a few minutes' walk from the school) then it'd have meant a thirty-minute bus journey to the nearest city, as the next-nearest (and also (at the time) outdoor) pool in the nearest town six miles away wasn't particularly usable until the late eighties. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70850 Thu, 17 May 2012 10:24:37 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 70850@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I for one intend to remain outside the cage and foxy"</p> <p>Voraciously vulpine.</p> <p>I'm frankly shocked by this - learning to swim should be one of those 'basic life skills' things. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70836 Thu, 17 May 2012 09:34:57 +0000 Uberuce 70836@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Seems pretty clear the zombies are to blame. With the inhuman patience of the dead, they've perverted our daily lives with more convenience and sloth so each generation become plumper and more useless until one day our pampered offspring's shambling nemeses will rise and devour. </p> <p>The youth of today are the turkeys of the impending revenant Christmas, people! The dings of each new app being installed is the sound of carving knives being sharpened, the clunkclick of the car that drives us 200m is the sound of giant ovens slamming fatal shut.</p> <p>I for one intend to remain outside the cage and foxy. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70829 Thu, 17 May 2012 08:57:13 +0000 amir 70829@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Is Tufty still alive?</p> <p>There are quite a few folk who rely on their ears alone, i.e. no eyes, when crossing the road. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=6593#post-70826 Thu, 17 May 2012 08:30:27 +0000 chdot 70826@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-11yearolds-leaving-primary-school-unable-to-swim-7757996.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-11yearolds-leaving-primary-school-unable-to-swim-7757996.htm</a></p> <p>Figure for England. </p> <p>“Swimming is the only subject on the national curriculum that can save your life,” said David Sparkes, chief executive of the ASA."</p> <p>Again England - don't know if in Scottish Curriculum. </p> <p>It could perhaps be also argued for cycle training. </p> <p>Man on radio just said that drowning is third largest cause of accidental death. </p> <p>Though of course "Road accidents are the biggest single cause of death for all children between the ages of 1 and 15 years" - not just (or probably many) while cycling. </p> <p><a href="http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/assemblies/introduction.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/assemblies/introduction.pdf</a> </p>