11 January 2016

Diving deep to keep school pools full

Schools have resorted to begging for donations on a charity website in a last ditch attempt to keep school pools open, Labour’s Children’s spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.

“Despite a requirement from the Ministry of Education that children are taught basic swimming skills, more than 150 schools have been forced to close their pools over the last six years because they can’t afford to maintain them. Another 130 are at risk of closure.

“Schools have pretty much exhausted their fundraising options, including applying for various grants and selling keys for community use.

“It’s prompted 30 to launch Givealittle campaigns to buoy up donations, a move supported by Water Safety New Zealand, which maintains the school pool is the best place to teach kids how to swim to survive, and which is also fundraising for the cause.

“For many families school pools provide the only opportunity their kids will have to learn to swim. Water confidence and water safety skills are critical in a country where activities such as surfing, boating and fishing are an integral part of the outdoor lifestyle.

“Tragically 10 people drowned in New Zealand waters over the official Christmas holiday period, with the drowning toll for 2015 at 100.

“These facilities not only have a significant educational role, they often become the heart of a community over summer.

“Despite the importance of kids learning to swim in a country like New Zealand, the Government has basically ignored the plight of schools, saying the decision to keep them open or not is down to boards of trustees.

“Schools don’t want to lose their pools, but they are being left without a choice.

“The Ministry of Education needs to step in and form a plan rather than stand by while communities lose an asset that helps save lives,” Jacinda Ardern says.

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