Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 54071 on Swimming: Training, what provision is available for secondary school pupils to learn to (a) swim and (b) be safe around water.

The programme of study for physical education (PE) makes specific reference to swimming and water safety, stating that “all schools must provide swimming instruction in either key stage 1 or 2” and that pupils should be taught to:

• Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres.

• Use a range of strokes effectively (for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke).

• Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Secondary schools are free to shape their PE curriculum, in line with the national curriculum, to suit all their pupils, but there is no statutory requirement to provide swimming lessons. At secondary, pupils should build on and embed the physical development and skills learned in key stages 1 and 2, and become more competent, confident, and expert in their technique. Swimming and water safety lessons are one way of doing this.

Schools can also use their personal, social, health and economic education programme to equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and with the knowledge necessary to make safe and informed decisions, which is a vital part of water safety.

The department is currently reviewing the statutory relationships, sex and health education curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.

The department works closely with sector organisations like Swim England and the Royal Life Saving Society UK, supporting schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons through teacher training and resources. This includes support for pupils with special education needs and disabilities, hosted on Swim England’s online Inclusion Hub.