Page 52 - SEN106 SEN Magazine May-June 2020

SEN 106 senmagazine.co.uk 52 Advertisement feature Swim England releases new awards supporting SEND pupils in school swimming Swim England has released a brand new set of awards – the School Swimming Foundation Awards – which are part of the nationally recognised Swim England School Swimming and Water Safety Awards scheme. The new awards are designed to provide support and recognition to school children with special educational needs, disabilities or other needs which mean they are unable or are taking longer to achieve the full national curriculum requirements for swimming and water safety: • perform safe self-rescue in different water based situations • swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres • use a range of strokes effectively. There are six School Swimming Foundation Awards, each with a number of outcomes, which help pupils to progress in smaller steps and achieve personal goals, either with or without support. The awards focus on the following: • acclimatisation to the pool environment • water confidence and individual core aquatic skills • moving and travelling around the pool, giving pupils a feel for recognisable strokes and offering them the opportunity to progress to front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke if they are able • essential water safety. The main aims of the awards are to: • ensure all pupils have access to the most essential swimming and water safety skills, whatever their ability • provide reward and recognition to every pupil who participates in school swimming lessons • keep all pupils motivated to continue with their school swimming lessons • provide schools with a more comprehensive range of inclusive materials and guidance for pupils of different abilities. The School Swimming Foundation Awards are available to all schools that are members of the Swim England School Swimming and Water Safety Charter. More information on the Charter and how to sign your school up can be found at swimming.org/schools Sport