プールが老朽化…内灘町で小学校の水泳授業を屋内温水プールで実施 改修か民間委託かアンケート取り決定へ (2026年6月12日)

It's almost time for swimming lessons to begin. In Uchinada Town, swimming lessons were held not at the school, but at an indoor heated swimming pool within the town. Why? The children of Daikonbu Elementary School in Uchinada Town stepped off the school bus. On the 12th, they had their swimming lesson at the town's indoor heated swimming pool. The instructors were not school teachers, but private instructors who operate the facility and run swimming schools. This is because the Daikonbu Elementary School pool is over 50 years old, and the water filtration pipes and other equipment are aging. Since renovations would be very expensive, the town decided to conduct a trial swimming lesson using the town's facilities this year for the first time. During the lesson, 22 third-grade students were divided into three groups, and each group learned swimming techniques using swimming equipment and practiced swimming without breathing from their respective instructors. Child: "It was easy to understand because they actually demonstrated how far back to lower my hands. I want to swim all the way to the back without touching the bottom. It was fun swimming breaststroke and crawl. (At school) it's sometimes cold and sometimes hot, but this is a heated pool, so the temperature was just right." In fact, some schools are abolishing swimming lessons due to the aging of their school pools and the effects of the summer heat. However, Uchinada Town, which faces the sea, believes that swimming lessons are important because they allow children to enjoy water and help prevent water accidents. Therefore, they have started a trial operation of outsourcing swimming lessons to a private company. Takuto Nakabayashi, teacher at Daikonbu Elementary School: "Compared to the previous system, it's great that professionals are there to manage things, including the weather. We can watch the children from above and ensure their safety, so I think this is a very helpful way to teach swimming." These swimming lessons will continue until around November. The town will conduct a survey of parents and children to decide whether to renovate the school pools or outsource the lessons to a private company. In Kanazawa City, two elementary schools have begun a trial program this year to use private indoor swimming pool facilities for swimming lessons. Outsourcing swimming lessons to private companies is expected to bring various benefits, such as improved heatstroke prevention for children and better working conditions for teachers.