All children in the Netherlands get their swimming certificate.

Nice idea 10tje to make your own designs.

To answer on a number of comments made:
No one is obliged to take swimming lessons in the Netherlands and it is no longer an obligatory part of the curriculum in every school, but traditionally great importance is placed on being able to swim - so many ditches, canals, pools and lakes - so many opportunities to drown. My (4) grandchildren don't have swimming lessons at school, but privately. The others are to young.
We are however lucky to have a national system of certificates - with standard requirements - not regulated by the government but by the national swimming association.

For France and England, as far as I know, children learn to swim a little bit with the school (for a quarter of the year, once a week)with 2 groups, the good and the beginners !! My 2 sons also join a group when they were 4 and 7 years old before we left France but I don't remember the name of the groups.
For England, we finally managed to get in (long waiting list !
Here's what's on my document:
Aquazone stage 1: Red (they get a red hat...)Aquazone stage 2: Orange
Aquazone stage 3: Jaune
Aquazone stage 4: Vert
Aquazone stage 5: Light blue
Aquazone stage 6: Blue marine
Aquazone stage 7: Purple
Aquazone stage 8,9,10: Grey
I don't know if it is the same in other part of England.
I hope it helped you !

Swimming the kids learn if they are lucky enough to attend a school that has a pool or they have to find another way to learn how, usually at the YMCA or YWCA and parents have to pay for that. Some kids never learn to swim.
I think it is great that your government recognizes the importance of learning to swim and requires everyone to learn. It just might save their life one day or that of one of their friends.
When my boys were growing up they got a diploma for graduating from kindergarden, one for graduating from the 6th grade ( because then they go on to high school. After four years of high school they get a diploma for graduating from high school. If they go on to college and fulfill all the reqirements they get a degree.
It is interesting how people in other countries place importance on things another country could care less about. Thank you for letting us in on how your system works. Too bad they couldn't get together and have a global way of teaching the same things to everyone. I'm just a dreamer I guess! lol
Meri

Hi from Northern Ontario ,Canada,Here each parent has the choice of paying for swimming lessons for there own children or not & THEY ARE DONE HERE OUTDOORS IN SUMMER & INDOORS IN A POOL IN WINTER.Here a lot of kids have not had the chance to learn to swimm as there parents could not afford these lessons or just never cared.Now some schools are putting it into the education these kids get so they can ALL learn to swimm.In my family i am the only swimmer!!Carolyn

tHANK YOU FOR YOUR INFORMATION, IT IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE COMPULSORY SWIMMING LESSONS, I WILL BE VERY HAPPY FOR sOUTH FLORIDA, WE TOO HAVE WATER EVERYWHERE, NOT ONLY THE OCEAN, BUT SWIMMING POOLS MANY CHILDREN DROWNED EACH YEAR, AND CANNALS, i AM ALWAYS AFRAID WHEN I AM DRIVING NEXT TO A CANNAL, JUST A MONTH AGO A FREIND OF MINE WAS HIT BY ANOTHER CAR AND SHE GOT INTO A CANNAL, THANK GOD A GOOD SAMARITAN JUMPED IN AND SAVED HER. AGAIN THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.

Here, in Portugal, there is no obligation for children to learn how to swim. However, in some scholls, swimming lessons are part of the extra activities that children can choose. There are also some local teams that take the charge to teach children how to swim and prepare the best for entering in competitions. I think it is a pitty that we have not the tradition of swimming lessons as my country, though a little one, has a vast ocean coast and a large amount of rivers, with excelent beaches. Every summer there is a large number of deathes by drowning.
Thank you for your question. It was very interesting.

We are not forced to send the children to learn how to swimm but for their safety I did. My 17 years old GD was swimming before she was a year old, but she learn at home with her parents. My other grandkids the same, and they are great swimmers.***********

Hello,
here in my part of Germany we have the "little seahorse" for kids before they come to school. My daughter has swimming in her school just in the second year and then again in the fourth but they told all the parents that the children should learn swimming before the start with the school and they are not able to teach the kids swimming. So most of the kids going to a crash-cours (you have to pay for it) for 10 days here in a bath to get the "little seahorse" (= swimm 25Meter in one, jump into the water and dive for a ring to the ground). They get a pass and a button for their swim-suit :o)
Greetings, Bettina

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1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thanks for the information.

In Western Australian Primary Schools we have compulsory in-term swimming lessons (parents still pay for the lessons). However they only go for two weeks (10 school days) each year. There are 12 Stages/certificates, the first 9 being swimming & water safety the rest are life saving lessons. While we do get the opportunity to do another 2 weeks during the summer holidays, it just seems so unlikely that a child can complete one stage per year (as I think is the goal), which is sad since Australian's so love the water.

We dont have any "laws" about swimming other than at the beach you must swim between the flags (as thats where the Life Guards monitor), and swimming pools have their own rules. Our town swimming pool has the rule that all children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. There was a maintenance problem with our pool last year and so it was only open for the last week of the season lol.. it kinda sucked...when its 40º+C you wanna go swimming :)

Its been interesting reading the comments. :) xXx

1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thank you very much!!*

Well we have a water rich country and you can not actually swim without your diploma. and here you learn it in school, but now is expected from you that you as a parent, your child is doing swimming lessons.Here we have a lot of public pools and our kids just go swimming when they are off from school.But from what we read is not so interesting to such a design for other countries to make.Then I make it only in Dutch.Thanks for your comments. Interesting to read.But it would be nice if they could enter as well as in Holland.Because nobody wants their child drowning.Here you can not swim in deep pools if you have no diploma.
Thanks all.

In OHIO USA the school district takes them for beginner lessons when they are in 5th grade and they pass a Red Cross test but they don't have to pass and nothing else is done. I also wish they did make everyone learn to help prevent drownings. We don't even have a near by place for swimming.

1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thanks for response.
Read my comments elsewhere on this page.
For everyone, the same answer.

These are great questions!! There is not any requirement in the US for kids to learn how to swim...but, there should be...everyone should know how to swim!!! Some of our Middle and High Schools have swimming as part of their gym class - but, not all do, unfortunately. But, as quilter124 said, the Red Cross gives free lessons in some areas. Hugs, Laura*

1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thanks for response.
Read my comments elsewhere on this page.
For everyone, the same answer.

Here in TN USA, it is a choice. The Red Cross gives free lessons here but not everyone takes them. We start here locally with Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Lifeguarding & First Aid, Rescue, then Adult Beginner, Adult Advanced, Instructor Training. Both of our children went through the first 3 levels. They do a great job. I wish everyone here had to get the certificates then maybe we would not have as many drownings.

1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thanks for response.
Read my comments elsewhere on this page.
For everyone, the same answer.

Hi I am in Iceland and children in Iceland have a swimminglession from 6 years to 16 years old and it is part of there shool program

1 comment

by 10tje 04 Sep 2010

Thanks for response.
Read my comments elsewhere on this page.
For everyone, the same answer.