Call to fund compulsory school swimming classes

ONE in five children leaving primary school this year will not know how to swim, says Royal Life Saving Australia.

Toddlers swimming

ONE in five children leaving primary school this year will not know how to swim, says Royal Life Saving Australia, which is concerned about a surge in drowning deaths among young adults.

RLSA chief executive Rob Bradley is calling on all levels of governments to make learn-to-swim programs mandatory in all Australian primary schools in the face of a 25 per cent jump in drowning deaths since 2008 for people aged 15-24.

"Too many schools throughout Australia don't provide the opportunities to ensure all their children receive an adequate swimming and water safety education," Mr Bradley said.

The RLSA wants compulsory swimming and water-safety lessons in primary schools; support for parents struggling with the cost of lessons; and funds for urgently needed programs to target rural, indigenous and multicultural communities.

Mother of three Jo Brown says compulsory swim lessons in primary schools would provide peace of mind. "I think it would be great if the summer terms were allocated to swimming lessons," she said, having spent the morning with her four-year-old, Chloe, at their local pool in Sydney's Lane Cove. She said private swimming lessons were swamped in the lead-up to summer and children could often miss out on slots at their local pools. Mandatory lessons in primary schools could take the load off local pools, she said.

Being able to swim 50m or float for two minutes are basic water safety skills that more than 20 per cent of school children are not being taught, Mr Bradley said: "We have identified about 50,000 children who are slipping through the cracks."

School Education Minister Peter Garrett said he supported all measures to increase children's safety around water, but the responsibility should not rest solely on schools: "Parents and families have a role to play in teaching kids how to look after themselves and their friends around our beaches, rivers or pools."

The health and physical education national curriculum is under development and Mr Garrett said submissions had called for a focus on emergency care and first aid management, including water safety.