What needs to happen next

New national data has exposed the scale of the challenge facing school swimming. But for the Swimming Alliance, the figures should be the beginning of the conversation, not the end. The task now is to understand why so many children are missing out – and build a system capable of ensuring every child leaves primary school with the swimming and water safety skills they need

More than one in four children are leaving primary school unable to swim 25 metres. That was the shocking headline finding from a recent BBC investigation into school swimming, which found that 28% of pupils nationally were not achieving one of the basic requirements of the National Curriculum. Behind the national figure, however, sit significant regional and socioeconomic inequalities. Among the examples the investigation highlighted were school groups in some areas receiving just six 30-minute swimming sessions, amounting to only around three hours in the water.

For Andrew Clark, Interim Chair of the Swimming Alliance and Head of Sports & Aquatics at GLL, the findings confirm something many within aquatics have recognised for some time.

“When more than a quarter of children are not reaching the expected standard, it is clear that the current system is not consistently delivering for every child,” he says.

Yet, Clark believes the 28% figure should be viewed as “a call to action rather than the complete picture”.

WHY ARE CHILDREN MISSING OUT?

It is clear that not enough children are learning to swim. The causes for that are complex – and the Swimming Alliance is keen that the debate does not become one of blaming schools.

Schools face curriculum pressures, constrained budgets, transport costs and timetable challenges. Some have convenient access to a local pool; others must spend significant time and money transporting pupils to facilities several miles away.

The facilities themselves are under pressure too, with ageing infrastructure, rising operating costs and closures reducing available water space. Responsibility, therefore, has to be shared.

The government sets curriculum policy and the funding environment. Local authorities and operators provide facilities and programmes. Schools need sufficient curriculum time to deliver swimming, while the wider aquatics sector provides expertise, teachers and pathways.

“The solution is not about assigning blame,” Clark says. “It is about creating a system that ensures every child has a genuine opportunity to learn.”

The practical swimming skills forged in the pool go hand in hand with the water safety knowledge learned in the classroom and experienced in the real word

That opportunity remains far from equal. Children living close to good-quality facilities and whose families can afford private swimming lessons have an obvious advantage over those facing limited local provision or financial barriers.

Simmy Akhtar, CEO of Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), adds that the headline 28% figure does not fully expose the consequences of those inequalities. “The headline figure fails to shine a light on the real tragedy behind the recent data,” she says.

“Only half of pupils at schools with the highest level of free meal provision could perform safe self-rescue, and children from the most deprived communities drown at twice the rate of those from the least deprived backgrounds.”

For Akhtar, the inequalities in swimming attainment cannot be separated from wider inequalities in safety and health. “When opportunities to learn to swim are determined by a child’s postcode, family income or access to local facilities, wider inequalities in safety and health outcomes are reinforced,” she says. “Drowning is a preventable public health issue, and the Government must act.”

“Only half of pupils at schools with the highest level of free meal provision could perform safe self-rescue, and children from the most deprived communities drown at twice the rate of those from the least deprived backgrounds.”

She adds that addressing the problem will require a government-led, cross-sector response bringing together education, health, local government, transport, leisure, planning, child protection and the voluntary sector.

REIMAGINING SCHOOL SWIMMING

Perhaps the most striking finding in the BBC investigation was that some pupils receive as little as three hours of actual tuition. For any aquatics professional, the answer to whether this is sufficient for most non-swimmers is straightforward: “No.” Learning to swim involves confidence, floating, movement, stroke development and water safety, with children progressing at very different speeds.

It is one reason the Swimming Alliance-led School Swimming Taskforce is developing a more structured approach. Its work currently centres on an initial 10- hour delivery framework, supported by a classroom- based “Lesson Zero” before children enter the pool. The ambition is to create much greater consistency around what children learn and the outcomes they work towards, rather than leaving provision dependent on individual schools, providers or local circumstances.

Clark says the Taskforce wants the first 10 hours to embed both water safety and enjoyment, with defined learning outcomes, exposure to deep water in a safe environment and opportunities to practise responding to situations with relevance beyond simply completing lengths of a pool.

The proposed framework includes an early focus on Float to Live and a “lifesaving stroke” – a front paddle designed to allow pupils to remain visible and comfortable while moving through the water.

Clark also points to intensive models in which 10 hours of tuition are delivered as daily 60-minute lessons over 10 days. This can increase actual teaching time relative to time spent travelling and, according to Clark, has improved attainment and reduced transport costs by 50% in programmes where the approach has been used.

BEYOND 25 METRES

For the Swimming Alliance, however, the future of school swimming cannot be judged solely by whether a child can complete a prescribed distance. Akhtar believes the conversation needs to move towards the broader concept of water competence.

“We also need to move the conversation to being ‘water competent’,” she says. Water competence, she explains, combines physical swimming skills with the knowledge and judgement required to anticipate, avoid and survive risky situations that could result in drowning.

With competence comes the ability to recognise when somebody else needs help and participate safely in activities in, on and around water. Importantly, it also includes risk and hazard awareness, understanding personal ability, coping with peer pressure and applying lifesaving skills in real-world situations.

This is particularly relevant as greater classroom- based water safety education enters the curriculum. For the Swimming Alliance, the principle is crucial: classroom education and practical swimming must complement one another, not compete.

Even the most committed schools struggle to deliver meaningful swimming provision if there isn’t a suitable pool within a reasonable distance

“The practical swimming skills forged in the pool go hand in hand with the water safety knowledge learned in the classroom and experienced in the real word,” Akhtar says. “Experience is crucial to building water competence, so providing students with opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills together is vital.”

Her message on the balance between theory and practice is unequivocal: “In-water learning is a critical part of effective water safety education and should never be replaced by classroom-based learning alone. Children must have opportunities to learn both in the classroom and in the water.”

The distinction matters. Knowing what to do when unexpectedly entering cold or deep water is imperative; having previously experienced floating, deep water and self-rescue techniques in a controlled environment makes that knowledge considerably more meaningful.

THE FACILITIES QUESTION

Even the best curriculum framework cannot succeed without somewhere to deliver it. For that reason, school swimming is inseparable from the wider challenge facing Britain’s aquatic infrastructure.

The Swimming Alliance is calling for a long-term National Aquatic Facilities Strategy that identifies where provision is needed, protects viable existing facilities and supports investment in modern, sustainable pools.

Akhtar says that the strategy needs to do more than simply replace facilities as they disappear. “A significant part of the school swimming challenge is undoubtedly a facilities challenge, but it’s not the whole story,” she says.

“Even the most committed schools struggle to deliver meaningful swimming provision if there isn’t a suitable pool within a reasonable distance, if transport costs are prohibitive, or if available pool time is severely limited.”

The Alliance wants future provision mapped against population growth and school demand, with particular attention paid to communities where access is poorest. It also wants investment in energy-efficient facilities and long-term capital funding capable of giving operators and communities greater certainty.

“Swimming is not just a leisure activity,” Akhtar says. “It is a life skill, a public health asset and a statutory educational requirement.”

Temporary and mobile pools could have a role, if they can meet the required operational, water quality and safety standards, particularly as a stop-gap where access to permanent facilities is currently poor. However, the Alliance would caution against presenting them as a wholesale solution. They may help address specific gaps in school provision by delivering some elements of the curriculum, but cannot replicate everything offered by permanent pools serving schools, clubs, families, health programmes and the wider community.

ACCURATE INSIGHTS

The Swimming Alliance has long called for greater transparency around school swimming data and welcomes the Department for Education’s move towards national collection, which should continue. But the figures raise questions around the data itself – more specifically, how (and what) the aquatics sector should collect.

What the BBC figure doesn’t show is how inconsistent school swimming provision might be between different areas, or how many children receive no curriculum swimming at all. It also doesn’t provide the complete picture of pupils’ practical swimming and water safety competence, or how consistently those abilities have been assessed and recorded.

Dave Candler, CEO of the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA), says the existence of national data is important, but adds it should not yet be treated as a definitive measure of school swimming attainment. “Who actually assesses whether a child can swim 25 metres, for example, against what standard, and how consistently is that applied?” he asks.

“We hear from swimming lesson providers who deliver school swimming but are not asked to provide attainment figures. We also know of instances where schools ask parents whether their child can already swim, rather than their ability being formally assessed against the National Curriculum outcomes.”

Candler also highlights the potential impact of voluntary parental contributions towards the associated costs of school swimming. Where families cannot, or do not wish to, contribute, he says, there are instances where parents may simply state that their child can already swim.

“If that information is then relied upon, it inevitably raises questions about the accuracy of the overall picture,” he says.

The BBC analysis also excluded 370 special schools, meaning the figures reported in the investigation do not provide a complete national picture. For Candler, however, that is an argument for improving the system rather than abandoning it.

“The answer isn’t to stop collecting the data – quite the opposite,” he says. “We need that national reporting to continue, but alongside more consistent assessment and reporting so that we can have greater confidence in the picture it presents and properly measure progress over time.”

“Success would mean that every child, regardless of where they live or their family’s circumstances, has an opportunity to learn to swim and develop essential water safety skills and knowledge”

TAKING THE CASE TO GOVERNMENT

The Swimming Alliance has already taken these issues to Westminster and has now set out its priorities to the new Government. Rebecca Cox, Interim Chief Executive at Swim England, says the immediate need is for a long-term plan backed by investment.

“The challenge facing school swimming is clear, but so too is the opportunity,” she says. “With the right ambition from the government, this parliament could deliver meaningful progress through investment in swimming pools, stronger support for schools and a renewed focus on water safety education.

“Through investment and policy focus, we can improve water safety, increase participation in physical activity, reduce inequalities in access to swimming, and ensure that far more children leave school with a skill that could one day save their life.”

Alongside a National Aquatic Facilities Strategy, the Alliance sees the forthcoming review of the National Curriculum as an opportunity to strengthen expectations around swimming, water safety and self-rescue.

It also wants the new PE and School Sport Partnerships to play a central role in improving provision, including targeted top-up swimming for children who have not reached the required standard and practical support for schools struggling with transport and travel costs.

There is an obvious opportunity for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to bring experience from his previous roles into that national debate. His record in Greater Manchester included support for approaches linking physical activity, leisure and health, while earlier in his political career, he championed free swimming initiatives.

For the Alliance, however, the central argument extends well beyond sport. Better school swimming can improve physical activity levels, reduce inequalities and give more children a skill that could ultimately save their life. And that provides a straightforward definition of what success should eventually look like.

“Success would mean that every child, regardless of where they live or their family’s circumstances, has an opportunity to learn to swim and develop essential water safety skills and knowledge,” Clark says.

Ultimately, success would be measured by children having the confidence, competence and opportunity to enjoy water safely throughout their lives

“Ultimately, success would be measured by children having the confidence, competence and opportunity to enjoy water safely throughout their lives.”

The BBC data has provided a clearer indication of the scale of the problem. The challenge now is to turn that evidence into a more consistent system – one which treats swimming not simply as another curriculum activity, but as an entitlement, a form of physical activity and a fundamental life skill.

SCHOOL SWIMMING