Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the availability and quality of swimming lessons in primary schools; what recent estimate her Department has made of the average cost to schools of delivering the national curriculum requirement for swimming and water safety; and what steps she is taking to support schools with the financial pressures associated with providing access to swimming facilities, transport, and specialist instruction.

The department recognises that swimming and water safety are vital life skills, and every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim and to keep themselves safe around water by the time they leave primary school.

Schools receive core funding for activities within the curriculum, including funding to provide compulsory swimming as part of PE and lessons on water safety which we are making a compulsory part of RSHE from September.

Increasing access and improving attainment in swimming and water safety will be key priorities for the new PE and School Sport Partnerships network. The network will support access to swimming by bringing together schools, local clubs, and national governing bodies of sport, helping to identify, and address barriers to participation so that funding and support are targeted where they are needed most.