Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of school children leave school being able to swim at least 25 metres; and what proportion of those children are (1) Black, and (2) Asian.

Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.

The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.