Many children cannot swim or pedal due to their social background or their daily environment. To restore a certain balance, the government is preparing to develop these disciplines at school.
More and more sports disciplines are developed during the school curriculum. But some should be given higher priority than others. Starting with swimming and cycling. This Friday, September 10, the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer and the Minister Delegate in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu spoke on the subject: “We must be a nation of swimmers”, said the former Olympic vice-champion in the columns of the Parisian. In addition to being a simple sporting activity, knowing how to swim can save lives. Between early June and late August this year, Public Health France recorded 1,119 accidental drownings, including 250 fatal. This figure is even higher among young children under 6 (26%).
“Half of the college students at the end of 6th year do not know how to swim well”, announced Roxana Maracineanu. This difference between children is also explained by social disparities. According to a study by the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (Injep): “61% of the children of unskilled workers are good swimmers compared to 86% of the children of managers.” Same problem with the bike. Despite the absence of studies on this subject, an imbalance has also been created depending on the child’s environment and the income of his parents. To overcome this inequality, Jean-Michel Blanquer is determined to bring these two disciplines up to date: “We consider them to be real fundamental knowledge”, he assured.
The establishment of “plans” to learn to swim and pedal
Cycling and swimming have become absolute priorities and will now have a more important role in sports lessons and will be more accessible on a daily basis. Since 2019, the implementation of the aquatic ease plan allows children aged between 4 and 6 years to learn the basics of swimming, underlined 20 Minutes. According to the Minister of Education, this measure will be reinforced: “The goal is to reach 90,000 children trained before July 1, 2022 and around 400,000 children in 2024.”
As for the second discipline, a plan “knowing how to ride a bicycle” is already in place since 2009, intended for children from 6 to 11 years old. Just like swimming, Jean-Michel Blanquer thinks big: “We want to reach the number of 200,000 by the end of 2022.” So far, 65,000 children have obtained their certificate and are able to ride a bicycle, recognizing the road signs. More than 1,000 clubs and associations are currently listed in France.