Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of research by Swim England that suggests three in five primary school children will not be able to swim 25 metres by the 2025-26 academic year.

The department recognises that children have missed out on opportunities to learn to swim and be taught how to be safe in and around water due to COVID-19 restrictions as highlighted in the report published by Swim England.

To help address this, the department is working closely with Swim England and other swimming and water safety organisations to provide support to schools and pool operators to restart school swimming lessons, including comprehensive guidance, webinars, and direct advice.

Additionally, through the Opening Schools Facilities programme, the department is supporting schools with swimming pools to be able to open their facilities beyond their normal hours, to give young people more opportunities to learn to swim.

The department is currently procuring a national delivery partner for the next academic year, to allocate funding and offer advice and guidance to schools, including on how they can use their swimming pools and other facilities to provide an increase in the local offer of swimming and other physical activity and extracurricular sports.