A free pilot has got off to a swimmingly good start.
But dreams of expanding it further may remain just that, as Fife Council fights to balance the books.Last year members of Cowdenbeath area committee agreed to fund a trial that entitles every primary one pupil in Lochgelly and Cardenden to 50 free swimming lessons.These began last month and there’s been a strong uptake of 140 pupils.Mark Hood, chairman of Fife Sports Partnership, was the councillor who put forward the potentially lifesaving initiative.He revealed the vast majority of youngsters taking part could not swim, or had only very basic skills in the pool.Buoyed by the number of participants, he added: “It’s great to see so many youngsters already benefiting from their free weekly swimming lessons.“Being able to swim is an important life skill that we want every child to have the opportunity to learn at an early age.”Mr Hood revealed he would have definitely been calling for its roll out across Fife, were it not for the Scottish Government’s threatened £25 million sanctions if the local authority opted to break the council tax freeze.That effectively removed raising the council tax to fund services as an option.“I absolutely want to roll it our but there is a massive budget restraint,” he said.“If we could have increased the council tax I would be calling for this across Fife.”Swimming lessons can be costly and it is estimated the pilot could save parents around £200 per child.“This is also yet another way to encourage children to be more active and that’s a priority we should not lose sight of in these challenging financial times for the council.”He said the programme will continue to be monitored and results would determine the implications of extending it.The free swimming lessons are available to the primary one pupils of Denend, Lochgelly South, Lochgelly West, St Ninian’s, St Patrick’s and Cardenden primary schools.