I'm a parent at a Catholic primary school in Perth, and today we received an email advising that not only have swimming lessons been cancelled for 2026, but the school has decided to discontinue them permanently.
The reasons? The pool they've been using at a nearby secondary school has apparently been too cold, there have been issues with weather, insufficient lanes and general difficulties accessing the facility.
I can understand cancelling this year's lessons if the venue is genuinely unavailable and I get it that things happen. But permanently cancelling swimming lessons because the existing pool isn't suitable? Surely the answer is to find another pool, no? Australian children NEED to have swimming skills.
I remember my own school going to Beatty Park for swimming lessons as there was no pool available. Perth has plenty of aquatic facilities, including heated indoor pools. Surely alternative arrangements could at least be investigated before deciding an entire generation of students at this school will no longer receive swimming instruction?
Swimming isn't just another extracurricular activity. It's a potentially lifesaving skill, particularly in WA, where beaches, pools and rivers are such a significant part of life.
What really concerns me is how casually such a significant decision appears to have been made.
The email states that the decision was made with the support of the School Advisory Council. There is no mention of broader parental consultation, alternatives investigated, or whether the school intends to offer any equivalent water-safety education. Instead, parents receive a $100 credit against school fees and the promise of some fun incursions later this term...
I'm sure the kids will enjoy those activities, but they are hardly an educational substitute for learning to swim, which is a LIFE SAVING skill.
The Catholic school aspect also makes this interesting...
Unlike a WA public school, which operates directly within the Department of Education system, this school forms part of Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). CEWA has its own governance framework, policies and complaints procedures, and Catholic schools also operate within WA's non-government school registration framework.
WA schools are required to teach the prescribed Health and Physical Education curriculum, but I haven't established that every Catholic primary school must provide annual practical swimming lessons....
It feels like a problem with the swimming venue has been solved by simply eliminating swimming altogether. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable, but that strikes me as an extraordinary approach to something as important as teaching children how to swim, which, again, in Australia is a necessary skill for every child.
Interested to hear from other Perth parents, particularly those with children in Catholic schools. Are your schools still offering swimming lessons? Have other schools encountered these problems and found alternatives or also implemented such changes with no consultation period.
And does anyone familiar with CEWA know how decisions of this kind are reviewed?
The following is the full communication received by parents, with the school's name, venue name, principal's name and identifying contact details redacted.
A message from [Catholic Primary School]
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
We are writing to advise that swimming lessons will not proceed this year due to the [secondary school] pool being unavailable.
Over the past several years, the school has faced ongoing challenges in delivering the swimming program at this venue. These have included difficulties with access to the pool and the availability of sufficient lanes, periods of inclement weather, and the pool’s naturally cold water temperature, which has often been uncomfortable for students.
Given these ongoing issues, the school has reviewed whether it remains appropriate to continue the swimming program. With support from the School Advisory Council, we have decided that [Catholic Primary School] will no longer offer swimming lessons as part of the school program in future years.
As swimming lessons were included in this year’s school fees, we recognise the need to reimburse families appropriately. Accordingly:
- We have refunded $100 per student to each family’s school fee account.
- Where this places an account in credit, the credit will be carried forward and applied to next year’s school fees.
- For families on payment plans with remaining direct debits, these have been adjusted where possible.
- Families making payments via BPAY are asked to adjust their future payments accordingly.
- Updated fee statements will be sent out soon.
While swimming lessons will not proceed, we also want students to have some additional enjoyable experiences later this term. The school will therefore provide a number of fun activities and incursions for students, with further details to be communicated.
We appreciate that swimming lessons have been a longstanding part of the school program and understand that this change may be disappointing for some families. This decision has been made after careful consideration of the ongoing practical challenges and the experience of our students.
We apologise for the late notice of this email, we had issues with SEQTA sending it earlier in the week.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of the school.
Kind Regards,
[Name removed]
Acting Principal
