Support to get children swimming by end of primary

Primary schools in England will receive extra support and improved guidance to help make sure all children can swim confidently and know how to stay safe in and around water, by the end of primary school.

Working in partnership with Swim England, the drive is supported by the £320 million PE and Sport Premium.

The extra support will help deliver the government’s sport strategy ‘Sporting Future’, which aims to ensure that every child leaves primary school able to swim. It includes using the PE and Sport Premium for extra lessons for children who have not yet met the national curriculum expectation after core swimming lessons, and extra training for teachers on water safety and swimming techniques through courses provided by Swim England.

There will also be extra guidance, provided by Swim England, to help schools deliver safe, fun and effective swimming lessons, as well as a drive to boost partnerships with independent schools to offer the use of facilities, coaching and other forms of support to schools in their area.

To coincide with the announcement, Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi and Sports Minister Tracey Crouch have also backed a pledge by Swim England – signed by the likes of British Olympic swimmer Steve Parry – calling on teachers and parents to do all they can to ensure children are taught swimming and water safety at primary school.

These measures follow a government-backed review of swimming and water safety in primary schools, which found that swimming standards vary in schools, despite being compulsory on the national curriculum. Following its recommendations, the government is working with Swim England to provide extra guidance to help schools deliver safe, fun and effective swimming lessons.