1 in 3 Children Can’t Swim
Shocking new research from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) released in June 2015 shows that 1 in 3 children now leave primary school unable to swim – up from the previously reported figure of 1 in 5.
The startling new research, carried out in conjunction with Kellogg’s, has revealed that around 200,000 children will leave primary school this summer unable to swim, amounting to an astonishing 2 million non-swimmers over the next ten years.
40% of Children Not Offered School Swimming
Perhaps even more shocking than children not achieving the National Curriculum target of swimming 25 metres unaided by age 11, 40% of those children who can’t swim haven’t even been offered the opportunity of learning to swim. This shows that the education system is failing children dramatically in its teaching of this essential life skill. More than 400 people drown each year in the UK, and that drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death in children.
The report states: “Each child should be safe in and around water, and a key element of this is being able to swim a minimum of 25 metres unaided. We call on central and local government to show their commitment to school swimming by reiterating this expectation to schools.”
It also calls on primary head teachers to make swimming a priority in their school budgets and wants Ofsted to monitor the inclusion and delivery of swimming lessons.
David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA, said, “Swimming is the only subject on the National Curriculum that can save your life.”
Why is School Swimming Failing?
There are a number of reasons why school swimming has declined to this shockingly low level – these include:
- a lack of access to facilities, especially since the dramatic fall in the number school pools in the last 20 years.
- high transport costs to take children to local authority pools.
- swimming not being a priority for many primary schools – despite it being on the National Curriculum Key Stage 2.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: “Swimming is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum, and all primary schools have a duty to provide swimming lessons for their pupils. By the end of primary school, pupils must be taught to swim 25 metres unaided using recognised strokes on their front and back and use a range of personal survival skills.
“We would expect that schools would take the needs of their children into account in making all decisions.
However, cuts in funding for education in recent years has meant schools are now not committing as much attention to swimming, especially when compared with subjects against which they are assessed on through league tables, such as Maths and English.