Too few swimming vouchers redeemed: children have to learn to swim!

Too few swimming vouchers redeemed: children have to learn to swim!

The water world in Saxony-Anhalt is currently struggling with a real problem: Despite issuing around 8,000 swimming vouchers that are intended to make up for canceled swimming courses during the Corona period, only around 1,037 vouchers have been redeemed so far. Reported on this n-tv. At first glance, happiness seems to be a long time coming for many children who want to learn to swim.

However, the situation could soon change, as the Ministry of Education plans to extend the program until November 30, 2026 and issue additional vouchers. The background is clear: more and more children starting school have inadequate swimming ability. The vouchers have a value of up to 150 euros and are specifically intended for children and young people who cannot swim or can only swim poorly. These are assessed on site by qualified swimming instructors.

Swimming vouchers as important support

The corona pandemic has severely affected swimming lessons at schools in Saxony-Anhalt, which has led the state to financially support swimming courses outside of schools. Loud landesschulamt.sachsen-anhalt.de The swimming vouchers are intended for students from all primary and special schools in Saxony-Anhalt, especially for those who completed swimming lessons with inadequate skills in the 2021/2022 school year. These vouchers can only be redeemed with recognized course providers who must meet minimum requirements.

A crucial point is the difficulties in the swimming pool. Due to a limited number of water times, waiting lists often arise, which makes it difficult to offer swimming lessons immediately. This means that these vouchers cannot be used to the desired extent, which is of course not in the interests of the children and parents.

The situation of swimming skills in children

The DLRG (German Life Saving Society) has noticed a steady increase in non-swimmers for years. Loud dlrg.de 57 percent of children are classified by their parents as safe swimmers. That sounds good, but 58 percent of children at the end of primary school do not have a swimming badge, which challenges media beliefs about safe swimmers. The bronze swimming badge, and not the seahorse, is crucial to being considered a safe swimmer.

Given this challenge, it is essential to improve access to swimming lessons. A more precise evaluation of voucher usage at a regional level would potentially shed light on current challenges and trends. But one thing is clear: every voucher redeemed means a chance for a child to learn to swim and become safer in the water.

The responsibility also lies with the parents, who are responsible for selecting and registering for courses. There is support from the DRK district association and the local DLRG associations. It is important that a solution is found as quickly as possible to increase the use of swimming vouchers and thus sustainably improve children's swimming skills.