Many missing basic skills (#818)

Can your child swim 50m or float for two minutes?  According to a recent report from Royal Life Saving Australia these are basic skills that more than 20% of school children are not being taught.  RLSA Chief Executive Rob Bradley is calling on all levels of governments to make swim programs mandatory in all Australian Primary Schools and wants support for parents struggling with the cost of lessons and “funds for urgently needed programs to target rural, indigenous and multicultural communities”.

In-term swimming classes are not compulsory here in WA according to the Department of Education – so we are particularly fortunate to have a Primary School that needs no government urging: it cares about the children, and with the present leadership team they are in good hands.  But the cost to parents is significant, particularly if there’s more than one child.   Sometimes families simply can’t afford it.  Travelling back and forth to Albany is tiring for the younger children and the loss of classroom time children is irreplaceable.

The RLSA’s National Drowning Report 2011/12 shows that last year there were 284 drowning deaths in Australia: twenty one of these were children aged 0-4. These were somebody’s kids.

This chart of deaths by drowning suggests two trends.  First, there is a slight improvement in the young 0-14 age group  – due perhaps to a growing parental awareness coupled with increased efforts within some schools.  Second, the figures for age groups over 15 are worse: with one exception, each age cohort shows an increase over the five-year average.  The message here is that we would all be safer if we if we were better swimmers.  We’d be healthier too.

The Australian Water Safety Strategy aims to reduce death by drowning by 50% by the year 2020.  Surely our own Community Strategic Plan should contribute by including a year round heated aquatic facility in its plans?  Council has already agreed that the need exists but I honestly can’t say whether the pool is in the mandatory Community Strategic Plan  (Bulletin #817) - there’s no written version the plan available to councillors or the community.

There is however the embryo of a Corporate Business Plan that has been developing within the Shire Administration for 18 months or so but has yet to emerge for Council consideration.  And I can tell you with certainty that the pool is not included in this plan.  If this disappoints you as much as it has disappointed DACCI then you should let your councillors know at their next meeting.  I know it’ll be Melbourne cup day, but the race will be over long before Public Question time that day.  Has the pool missed the draw?

Cyril Edwards, DACCI, denmarkpool@gmail.com and http://www.denmarkpool.blogspot.com.