Rural children might not have ready access to swimming pools but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to know water safety.
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Thanks to the recent work of swimming instructors Sue McGilvray and Jo Price, almost 100 students from Crookwell, Binda, Bigga and Laggan Primary Schools are now showing better water confidence. Ms McGilvray and Ms Price spent two weeks at the Crookwell Pool teaching a Swimming and Water Safety Program through NSW Department of Education. Being from a regional area, children are not always able to access swimming pools and instructors and having the opportunity through school programs will meet the safety requirements for children to learn this vital skill.
Ms McGilvray was also a guest speaker at a recent Crookwell CWA Day meeting sharing the importance of the community supporting this program, given the recent spike in water related fatalities across NSW over the summer months.
“It is really important for kids to learn to swim, not just because of the spike in recent water related fatalities but we, as a community, need to be more vigilant.” said Ms McGilvray.
“Not having back yard facilities should not be an impediment to encourage children to learn how to swim. Parents getting behind the program and encouraging their children to get into the water is one of the most important attributes toward water safety. Parental support fosters confidence and a desire by children to learn how to swim.”
The program teaches school children from Kindergarten -Year 6 the importance of water safety around waterways, dams, creeks and pools.
It is an expectation that following a 40-minute session with each student that they develop greater confidence around water and learn basic survival skills that can be further refined with practice. Children should always be supervised when around water.