Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that primary schools provide adequate (a) swimming and (b) water safety lessons.

Swimming and water safety is a compulsory element of the primary physical education (PE) national curriculum. The department works closely with sector organisations like Swim England and the Royal Life Saving Society, 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. The PE and Sport Premium can be used by primary schools for top-up lessons for those pupils not able to meet the national curriculum outcomes after core lessons. Following public consultation, we are currently reviewing the statutory relationships, sex and health education curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.