FREE swimming lessons will be offered in Secret Harbour and Kwinana during Learn to Swim Week.
The Secret Harbour and Kwinana swim schools have thrown their support behind an initiative to prevent childhood drowning by offering free swimming lessons for kids under five from September 24 to October 2.
Poolwerx owners Kevin Scott and Ian Barnes urged parents to visit the Learn to Swim Week website at www.learntoswimweek.com.au and sign their under fives up to learn vital water safety skills, free of charge.
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READ NOW“Drowning is still the leading cause of preventable deaths in children under five in Australia,” Mr Scott said.
“We hope that by having schools like State Swim Secret Harbour and Kwinana supporting this cause we can get more kids in the water learning lifesaving skills.”
Learn to Swim Week ambassador Laurie Lawrence said parents reported one of the biggest obstacles to regular swimming lessons was the perceived expense.
“For Learn to Swim Week we’ve partnered up with hundreds of swim schools around the country, to offer free lessons for the kids,” he said.
“The life of our kids is too important to be jeopardised by constraints on the family budget, so we’re performing this vital service free of charge.
“We want to see the day when we’re able to report that child deaths due to drowning have reached the magic number of zero, and if offering free lessons is what it takes then that’s what we’ll do.”
A recent study conducted by Poolwerx, the company that initiated Learn to Swim Week, found that 81 per cent of parents with young children think swimming lessons are compulsory in Australian schools.
“This simply isn’t the case,” Mr Barnes said.
“Swimming lessons aren’t compulsory in any primary school, state or private.
“It’s up to the parent to ensure their child learns water safety and how to swim.”
“This is one of the many reasons why we started Learn to Swim Week – to get kids in the pool, learning to swim and teaching them how to save their own lives.
Visit www.learntoswimweek.com.au.