Petition for Reassessment of Changes to Pre-school Swimming Lessons at the Beacon Leisure Centre, Burntisland

We, the undersigned, disagree with the changes to pre-school swimming lessons at the Beacon Leisure Centre, Burntisland, whereby pre-school children are taught in an area of the pool where they cannot touch the ground without an adult/instructor in the pool with them. This is based on the following grounds:

Safety: We consider that the risks associated with teaching pre-school children without an adult in the pool are too high for this age group. This is because they do not have the communication and discipline skills that older children have developed making it extremely difficult for a teacher at the poolside to maintain the safety of the children and control of the class. An adult in the water also provides reassurance to those children who may have a greater fear of water than others. Therefore we petition for the return of one teacher/assistant in the pool plus one teacher at the side during pre-school lessons. Exclusion: The new system relies on the premise that children will willingly enter the pool when they cannot touch the ground. For some children this will be the case. However, others will experience not just mild but severe psychological distress at the prospect of such an action which could potentially lead to them abandoning learning this life saving skill all together and excluding them based on their different needs. Many parents previously chose The Beacon over other leisure centres since their children did not suit the new system of swimming teaching. All children are different and Fife Leisure should recognise this in their provision of swimming classes. Therefore we petition for either the re-establishment of the old system of swimming teaching or the establishment of water confidence classes held in the beach area for those who need them. Lack of Information to Parents: Parents were not made aware that the structure of swimming lessons would be changed or why this was necessary. The arguments supporting the new system have their merits but appear to lack any understanding of the complex nature of the fears that children have and develop when they are forced to do things that place them ‘out of their depth’. Therefore we petition that there is some sort of information leaflet that explains the difference between any new water confidence classes and pre-school swimming classes. This will mean parents can make informed decisions on whether to try the new system first or whether to enrol in water confidence classes with the aim of integration into pre-school swimming classes.