A LOCAL children's charity has highlighted the need for inclusive swimming lessons for ALN children, to stop them from being excluded from school or community-based swimming lessons and to prepare them when they are in the water.
Sparkle, a Gwent-based charity designed for children with additional needs, has carried out a recent evaluation of specialist swimming lessons for children with disabilities and found that many of these children are being "excluded from school or community based swimming lessons."
This comes after the Welsh Government, local authorities, Sport Wales and Water Safety Wales made a commitment to teaching all children to swim in primary school, through the Swim Wales partnership which aims to highlight the importance of learning how to swim and how to develop water competency skills in the curriculum. These skills could potentially prevent drownings and save lives.
A spokesperson for Sparkle charity, said: "Drowning remains one of the commonest causes of accidental death among children, with a 46% increase in child drownings in the UK in 2022.
"These children are particularly vulnerable to drowning, as they have no sense of danger, and may have more physical challenges in staying afloat in water."
They found that 81 per cent of children had bad experiences at community-based swimming lessons and faced barriers.
Parents reported that there was no 1-to-1 support for their children, many of whom had autism and "almost half of whom were non-verbal."
The evaluation also found that aids to access the pool such as a hoist were either not available or staff didn't know how to use them.
Sparkle charity runs inclusive swimming lessons in a hydrotherapy pool at Serennu Children's Centre in Newport and Crownbridge Special School in Cwmbran.
Phil Abraham, parent of 8-year-old Mia Abraham, said: “The pool is very important to my daughter’s development.
"Sparkle pool is one of the few places where she can truly gain the exercise she needs due to her poor mobility.
"She needs the pool to exercise her muscles and for her general health.”
According to a Sparkle spokesperson, some children in the evaluation were "made to feel as if it was their fault that they could not engage in the community lessons."
Lisa Jones, parent of 12-year-old Joseph, said: “Joseph’s autism was seen as bad and naughty behaviour so he was frequently made to sit at the side of the pool which caused distress and upset as he felt that no one understood him.
"His confidence was low and he was afraid of the water.”
The charity uses skilled staff who are trained in supporting children with disabilities by giving one-to-one support and inclusive swimming lessons, which they have said can make a difference to the children's' confidence and swimming abilities.
Sarah Packer, parent of 9-year-old Alice, said: “It's thanks to Sparkle entirely that Alice is now more confident in the water and is making real progress with this absolutely invaluable life skill.
"I can say confidently that there isn't anything comparable in the community and that there will always be a need and a demand for Sparkle swim lessons to continue.”
Amy Jayne-Murray took her 10-year-old son Oliver to large group swimming lessons. She said: "There was a regular turnover of children, as they developed skills and moved up classes far faster than Oliver could achieve.
"His confidence was taking a huge knock as he struggled to keep up.”
After using Sparkle's services, Ms Jayne-Murray, said: "There are many swim schools that claim to be inclusive of disabilities, but the truth is they simply can’t be whilst running classes with neurotypical children.
"Sparkle offers a vital service to young people with disabilities.
"Without it, my son would not be able to swim.”
Despite the Welsh Government commitment to ensure all children learn basic water safety, Sparkle charity has said, "it is clear that a large proportion of children are being denied this opportunity."
Swimming lessons at Sparkle rely on fundraising, as no statutory funding is given for the fully integrated lessons, says the charity.
Those who are interested can support Sparkle by visiting their website: https://www.sparkleappeal.org/
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