Parent/carer experiences and challenges in redeeming the First Lap swimming lesson voucher in New South Wales, Australia
Windle, Natalie, Peden, Amy E., Angell, Blake, and Macniven, Rona (2025) Parent/carer experiences and challenges in redeeming the First Lap swimming lesson voucher in New South Wales, Australia. Managing Sport and Leisure. (In Press)
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Abstract
Rationale: Swimming is a popular, enjoyable, and important form of physical activity. Swimming skills play a vital role in water safety and drowning prevention, particularly among young children. The First Lap program is a New South Wales government swimming lesson subsidy voucher program for preschool-aged children. This study examined parent/carer program views and experiences in 2021–2022, specifically reasons for voucher non-redemption. Approach: A thematic analysis examined 1031 parent/carer qualitative responses concerning reasons for voucher non-redemption and overall views and experiences of the program in an online parent/carer survey.Findings: Voucher non-redemption was evident through: seasonal, weather and health; program parameter; parent/carer (user); and swim school (provider) themes. Despite non-redemption, parent/carer program views were additionally evident through: positive feedback about the program and its objectives; evidence of knowledge and awareness of the importance of water safety and learning to swim; lesson affordability concerns. Practical implications: Swim school and lesson availability, accessibility, and affordability can be addressed through clear engagement and communication with both the user and provider sides. Research contribution: Reasons for First Lap voucher non-redemption represent barriers to swimming lesson participation for preschool-aged children. Originality: Voucher programs must consider the impacts of the broader socio-ecological context and ecosystem.
| Item ID: | 87405 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2375-0480 |
| Keywords: | child, drowning, education, evaluation, preschool, Swimming |
| Copyright Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Dec 2025 02:50 |
| FoR Codes: | 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420604 Injury prevention @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280112 Expanding knowledge in the health sciences @ 100% |
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