Did you know that here was a 108% increase in drownings 0-4 last year? And that drowning is still the main cause of accidental death in children under 5 in Australia?

As a swim school we are dedicated to helping families discover the joy of swimming but swim industry experts are concerned about an increase in drownings this Summer, as research revealed 54% of children are not learning to swim, with 27% forced out of lessons due to COVID restrictions and 28% unable to find class availability at their local swim school.

The SwimSAFER Report commissioned by Swim Australia, as part of the annual SwimSAFER Week, discovered only 37% of parents planned to enrol their child in official lessons within the next six months, with 29% planning to teach their child themselves! Not all children are as lucky as our students… they do not get to learn the water safety skills that could save their life, and one of the reasons why is affordability.

Thankfully we have the Active Kids and First Lap programs to help, but we can do more. Swim Australia did some research and it showed 54% of Australian children are not learning to swim. They have relaunched Swim It Forward to help address this, saying “Water familiarisation is one of the key drowning prevention measures, yet so many children are not receiving this skill. We want to see a shift in this terrible statistic, so we are supporting Swim it Forward".

Swim it Forward’s Mission is to save lives by making learn to swim accessible to as many children as possible across Australia.

Children like Lexi, 5 and Tyler, 4. They are one of the lucky recipients of swimming lessons from Swim it Forward. Their Mum Nikki, a sole parent, is so grateful for the opportunity afforded her by this initiative.

"My kids absolutely love swimming and their instructor. They were both born deaf and wear special waterproof cochlear implants in the water to swim. They also use signing as their language is a bit behind. They have lessons once a week. We literally can’t thank people enough as I wouldn't be able to afford swimming lessons otherwise. I hope in the future I can give back and help another family. The more children learning to swim the less drownings! Learning to swim is a major preventative measure parents can take”. Thank you in advance for your generous donation. (All donations are administered by the charity to help more children into lessons. Donations do not come directly to the Swim School fundraising on behalf of Swim It Forward).