Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they will use to evaluate the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network’s effect on (1) access to curriculum swimming and top-up swimming lessons, and (2) swimming attainment; and when they expect to publish the first results.

Swimming and water safety are vital life skills, but not enough children are currently meeting the national curriculum expectation to swim confidently over a distance of at least 25 metres by the time they leave primary school.

The department is investing over £1 billion in PE and school sport, including a new Partnerships Network and improved school sports facilities. To help ensure more children can access high-quality opportunities to learn to swim and be safe around water, we will specifically require the national delivery partner for the partnerships to improve swimming attainment and water safety, particularly in schools with low attainment, supporting schools to provide swimming lessons more effectively and reducing inequalities in swimming attainment. Delivery and impact will be monitored throughout implementation and supported by independent evaluation, with findings published in due course. Once in place, the national delivery partner will establish clear performance frameworks, including for swimming, with regular reporting to the government.