Supporting a Nation Swimming

At Swim England we want to achieve a nation of swimmers. That starts when a child enters the water for the first time. We want everyone to learn to swim as it is such an important life skill.

All children leaving primary school should be able to meet the National Curriculum minimum standards:

• swim at least 25 metres unaided
• use a range of strokes
• know how to self-rescue in a variety of settings.

These are the minimum standard of swimming ability. However, Sport England’s Active Lives children report shows that one in four year 6 children cannot swim 25 metres, and one in four cannot self-rescue. For children with a low family affluence score, nearly half can’t swim 25 metres unaided.

Drowning remains one of the most common causes of accidental death, and for many children, school may well be the only time they get to go swimming and learn these vital skills.

We want every child leaving school to have these skills to be able to have fun in the water safely with their friends and family.

But that’s not all. We want to grow the diversity of the swimming teachers and coaches in this country. We also want to do even more to promote the health benefits of swimming through programmes aimed at really changing people’s lives.

You can help us to do this by donating below or fundraising for this cause. To find out more, click here.