Despite a nationwide shortage of swimming instructors, all of VacSwims swimming programs are set to go ahead this holiday season.
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed no programs scheduled for the months of December and January had been cancelled, saying the department's efforts were ongoing to ensure the programs would not be impacted by the instructor shortages.
The spokesperson highlighted a range of strategies the department has implemented since 2019 to help minimise the impact of the national instructor shortage on the State's VacSwim programs, including the delivery of a fully funded training program for year 12 and university students to become instructors, outsourcing of lesson delivery to the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia as well as the payment of "generous allowances" to incentivise staff to travel to and work at the State's hard to staff locations.
"The Department of Education intends to appoint instructors to deliver all planned summer VacSwim programs," the spokesperson said.
The confirmation follows Education Minister Tony Buti's recent announcement that three of VacSwim's open water programs in the State's south are set to be reinstated for the 2023-24 summer holiday program, after being identified in a 2022 review as locations where appropriate risk mitigation measures could not be implemented.
Speaking about the issue in parliament recently, Mr Buti said some of the concerns in relation to the three locations identified had been limited access to emergency response services, limited mobile phone services, no access to sea rescue and public interface issues, including motor vehicles on the beach and the public discarding bait in the vicinity of the lesson locations.
As a result of local community feedback indicating strong discontent about this decision, the State government appointed a group specialising in risk assessments to conduct an independent review of the three locations Cosy Corner, 30 kilometres from Albany, Cape Riche, 100km from Albany and Starvation Bay, near Jerdacuttup.
Mr Buti said the review paved a way forward for the three programs to continue, providing a number of conditions were met.
"The review report contained a number of recommendations to mitigate the risks associated with these venues under four broad themes: one, training, onboarding and induction processes; two, first aid training, site set-up and teaching equipment; three, processes for risk assessments, regular support, a review of incidents and control for continuous improvements; and, four, signage and regular maintenance of existing infrastructure," Mr Buti said.
Having received support from the City of Albany and the Shire of Ravensthorpe to implement these recommendations, Mr Buti said the government agreed to reinstate the VacSwim programs at all three locations.
"These three sites created real challenges and the department only decided that the program would cease because of the dangers," he said.
A strong advocate for the continuation of the VacSwim programs in her electorate, Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens spoke about the issue in parliament recently, saying the programs were a necessary element of the "critical social infrastructure" that keeps WA's regional communities alive.
With 65 children having taken part in the 2022-23 summer VacSwim lessons at the Cosy Corner and Cape Riche locations, Ms Stephens said if the lessons had not been reinstated the families affected, particularly those who attended the Cape Riche lessons, would have been forced to travel an hour to Bremer Bay or, alternatively, two hours to Albany to attend the classes.
"For those families, VacSwim not only represents an opportunity for kids to learn to swim, but also an opportunity to socialise, share experiences and network with others post-harvest," Ms Stephens said.
"Another constituent said she believed it was hard for people to comprehend the kilometres these children travel to get to school to music lessons, doctors' appointments or even a swimming lesson.
"She said it was really hard living where they do, really isolating, and it was getting harder.
"She urged the government to please take this seriously, as the community seems to be continually told it is just a numbers game.
"The constituent added that it would be nice if it were not a fight to keep something in their communities."
More than 100 years old, operating at approximately 170 closed and open venues across WA and attended by more than 235,000 Western Australians annually, VacSwim is one of the biggest learn to swim programs in the world and the biggest nationally.
The department spokesperson said funding had increased accordingly.
