Catherine Murphy
Ceist:564. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the number of secondary schools which do not provide swimming lessons to students in each local authority in tabular form. [21531/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 28 April 2021
Ceisteanna (564)
Freagraí scríofa
The Department of Education does not have access to the information on the number of post primary schools which do not provide swimming lessons in each local authority. Whether or not swimming lessons are offered would be a matter for each individual school based on their own context.
In the new Leaving Certificate Physical Education specification learners’ physically active participation is central to teaching and learning. To enable this to happen, students learn about the different theoretical perspectives through their participation in three different physical activities. These activities are selected from six distinct physical activity areas which reflect the activities more commonly included in school physical education programmes currently. In the Physical Activity area ‘Aquatics’ students learn about water-based activities that utilise swimming and/or diving skills and techniques for performance water safety, or recreational purposes. Learners may choose one of the following activities Lifesaving, survival swimming, swimming strokes, water-polo, synchronised swimming.
However, it is recognised that the particular context of the school, the physical education programme it can facilitate and the level of community facilities, will have a bearing on the level of choice that can be managed. The physical education teacher, in consultation with the learners, will agree the range of activities that can be accommodated and supported for their physical activity project.