Newtown School principal Mark Brown talks about the importance of school swimming pools and teaching children to swim. (Video first published May 12, 2019)

Every year hundreds of Kiwis die in the water. They don't need to.

Stuff is working with Water Safety New Zealand to help Kiwi kids stay safe in summer. And we'd like your help.

The money raised through this Givealittle page will go towards ensuring dozens of Kiwi lives are saved.

School pool closures, swimming-related costs and the New Zealand curriculum are affecting Kiwi kids' ability to swim, Water Safety New Zealand chief executive officer Jonty Mills says.

Just over a quarter of schools taught children "adequate" and basic lifesaving skills such as floating with about 75 per cent of schools not able to provide the minimum recommended lessons for students.

Schools that provided lessons had crept up since 2001 but the time spent in the water had reduced by up to four hours each year. That could affect a child's skills, Mills said.

"The three biggest barriers for an aquatic education are cost, transport and access to facilities."

READ MORE:

* Half of young children attend water lessons

* Getting in the swim is harder these days but just as vital

* Editorial: Time to make sure all Kiwi kids learn to swim

Rata School principal Dave Appleyard said the Lower Hutt school offered twice the number of recommended lessons, however it was hard to ensure every child could take part.

Pupils at Newtown School have a swimming lesson. The school pool is only able to stay open because of a $500,000 council grant.

Most days children turned up without swimwear. Many just did not own a swimsuit, he said.

In the past five years, about 165 school pools have closed and about 135 are at risk of closing because of health and safety, or maintenance costs.

Newtown School principal Mark Brown said teaching children how to be safe around the water was more important than ever with more schools welcoming families immigrating to New Zealand from countries with forgiving aquatic conditions, or limited access to water.

The school was recently awarded a $500,000 grant from Wellington City Council to fix its decaying pool, but many others were not so lucky, he said.

Half an hour outside of Whangarei, Poroti School has battled to keep its community-built pool open. With 37 children on the roll, principal Pauline Johnson said Government funding did not stretch far-enough.

Last year it was forced to shut the pool for the season, its future looked grim, Johnson said.

"There needs to be funding available."

She said children in Poroti had access to secluded swimming holes so they needed to be water savvy.

Ministry of Education early learning and student achievement associate deputy secretary Pauline Cleaver said schools were required to provide all students with opportunities to learn basic aquatic skills by the end of Year 6.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Newtown School principal Mark Brown says teaching children how to be safe around the water is more important than ever.

But exactly what those lessons looked like varied from school-to-school because each designed its own lessons.

"While we don't ask schools to report to us on the progress of students, we do expect that schools will inform caregivers and whānau about their child's progress as part of their regular reporting."

Clever admitted pools were expensive to build and maintain which led more schools to use community facilities.

Mills said students were "missing out" because of pressures on the education system.

If a school could not provide its own lessons parents were forced to find private tuition. However, there was a "big chunk" of our population that "simply can't afford that".

Discussions with the Government were ongoing to ensure the best way for a long-term sustainability of the water safety sector, he said.

There have been 237 fatal drownings of young people aged zero and 24 between 2008 and 2017.

A study from the University of Otago in 2017 found that, of 48 children aged from 6 to 11 in eight schools around Dunedin, 62 per cent were unable to swim 100 metres.

Water Safety New Zealand has been working to tackle the issue of drowning fatalities head on through its Water Skills For Life Givealittle page. The money raised will go toward its goal to have the programme reach every Kiwi child before they leave school.

Every year hundreds of Kiwis die in the water. They don't need to.

Stuff is working with Water Safety New Zealand to help Kiwi kids stay safe in summer. And we'd like your help.

The money raised through this Givealittle page will go towards ensuring dozens of Kiwi lives are saved.