THE MOMENT when a child ditches their armbands and learns to swim unaided is a important milestone in any youngster's life.
And now it has emerged that children are taking the plunge at an ever early age, with thousands signing up for swimming lessons before they even start school.
A programme set up to teach children how to swim has revealed that more than 5600 of the little ones taking part are aged between three and five - ten per cent of the total children involved.
Parents and babies have also been getting into the pool, thanks to the Learn to Swim National Framework for Swimming, which also runs introductory classes to give even the youngest children a feel for the water.
The Learn to Swim Framework is aimed at youngsters from birth to 11-years-old and provides high-quality teaching at least once a week through a series of lessons and levels over a number of years.
Currently programmes are being run at more than 100 swimming pools in 19 separate Leisure Trusts across Scotland, with 53,451 youngsters receiving lessons under the framework.
Duncan Scott
Athlete Duncan Scott, winner of six medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia in April, has given the programme his backing, saying it was important to start simmers off young.
He said: “Getting children into the pool as early is possible is best way to start to love swimming.
“It is fantastic to hear so many kids at such a young age are learning to swim.”
Scottish Swimming, supported by Scottish Water, now plans get more young children learning to swim under the framework by encouraging them to start before they begin school.
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Brian Lironi, Director of Corporate Affairs with Scottish Water, said: “It is already a fantastic achievement to have more than 53,000 children learning to swim but to know more that more than 10 per cent are children who not even at school yet is amazing.
“Learning to swim is such an important safety skill and it’s vital the basics are learned at an early age. Safety both around and in the water is the paramount reason we’re involved in the Learn the Swim partnership with Scottish Swimming.
“We are looking forward to seeing the programme go from strength-to-strength, encouraging even more children and young people into the country’s swimming pools.”
Scottish Swimming, the national governing body for a number of aquatic disciplines, is working towards the ultimate goal of ensuring everyone in Scotland can swim.
Local Authorities and Leisure Trusts have embraced the ethos of the programme, which aims to create more opportunities for children to learn to swim in a quality environment.
Another success of the framework has been the collaboration between local authorities, organisations and Scottish Swimming, made possible and enhanced through the support of Scottish Water.
Forbes Dunlop, CEO of Scottish Swimming, said: “Introducing young children to swimming at an early age brings a whole host of benefits for children.
"The pool is a water based adventure playground for children to have fun, build confidence and learn new skills which they can use now and in future life.
“We want to try to ensure every child has a memorable, fun and enjoyable experience whilst learning to swim. I would like to thank our local partners and Scottish Water for their continued support in delivering this important programme.”
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