Saxony improves swimming lessons for children of pre-school and primary school age

Saxony wants to further improve swimming lessons for children of pre-school and primary school age. The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs has therefore agreed to work more closely with the state's swimming association. "We agree that modern swimming training in Germany must be practicable, standardized and, above all, safe. The mutual recognition of swimming certificates between schools and the Saxon Swimming Association brings us a step closer to this goal," explained Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU).

The minister referred to the concept of four levels, which has been implemented in compulsory swimming lessons in elementary school since 2019/2020. The four levels are called water familiarization, basic skills, basic swimming and safe swimming. This has created a framework within which children can gradually and systematically learn and consolidate swimming skills.

"Parents receive clear and unambiguous feedback from the schools and the swimming association as to whether their child can already swim safely or is still at the basic skills level," emphasized Piwarz. This could clear up any possible misunderstandings about the level of swimming ability. This clarity of the levels is a decisive advantage over the "Seepferdchen" swimming badge. This is because parents often associate the "Seepferdchen" with solid swimming ability in their children. However, the skills for the "Seepferdchen" are only at level two and should not be confused with safe swimming.