The House | Swimming is a life-saving skills

4 min read4 hr

As a keen swimmer all my life, I am deeply concerned about the state of school swimming and water safety in this country. For an island nation, surrounded by rivers, lakes and 11,000 miles of coastline, the ability to swim is not optional. It is a vital life skill, as fundamental as learning to read or write. Yet every year, far too many children leave primary school unable to stay safe in the water.

Recent figures paint a stark picture. National data from Sport England shows that around one in four children finishes year 6 unable to swim 25m, and around one in five children can’t demonstrate basic water safety competence.

In some areas – particularly those with higher deprivation – the proportion rises far higher, with less than 40 per cent meeting the national curriculum standard. This inequality matters and it is completely unacceptable. 

Children from lower‑income families, who are less likely to access private lessons, are disproportionately represented in drowning statistics.

It is a societal failure when the children who most need these life‑saving skills are the least likely to acquire them.

The challenges that schools face are well known. The closure of hundreds of local pools has made accessing lessons increasingly difficult. Transport costs for schools are rising, swimming teachers are in short supply and the timetable pressures on headteachers are immense. 

Many schools simply do not have a suitable pool within a practical travel distance. For others, the nearest facility is over‑subscribed, ageing, or not designed with school groups in mind.

These barriers have real consequences. When a child misses out on swimming in primary school, the opportunity rarely comes back. And when a generation of children loses vital water safety skills, we collectively carry the risk.

We are seeing the impact already: too many drowning incidents, widening health inequalities, and increased inactivity among young people. If we do not act now, the long‑term social and health costs will be severe.

So, first and foremost, £400m has been pledged for grassroots sport – and it’s essential that this goes to swimming pools.

Next, the current review of the national curriculum must elevate the importance of swimming and water safety. School swimming has been part of the PE curriculum for over 30 years, but too often it is treated as an afterthought.

At the APPG, we believe school swimming should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Ensuring every child learns to swim must be a shared responsibility between government, local authorities, schools and the wider aquatics sector. But government must set the tone by embedding swimming firmly in statutory expectations and providing the means for schools to comply.

The introduction of the government’s new online reporting tool for school swimming is a welcome step. For the first time, schools have provided their swimming results directly to the Department for Education. This tool promises to give us a clearer picture of where children are falling behind, where provision is strong, and where targeted support is urgently needed.

I urge the government not only to continue this work, but to publish the findings so that councils and schools can work together with experts such as Swim England and the Swimming Alliance to direct support most effectively using accurate, up-to-date data. Good policy requires good evidence.

The future of school swimming and water safety depends on decisions made now. We face a widening gap between children who can swim and those who cannot; between communities with modern, accessible pools and those where facilities have disappeared; between schools equipped to deliver high‑quality lessons and those struggling even to secure pool time.

We cannot allow postcode or income to determine a child’s chance of staying safe in the water. With the right investment, clear expectations and open reporting, we can reverse the decline. 

The curriculum review is an opportunity – perhaps the most important in a decade – to ensure every child has the chance to learn this life-saving skill. It is an opportunity we must seize. 

Phil Brownlie is senior head of public affairs for Swim England