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Drive to ensure all children can swim by end of primary school

The Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport has announced extra help for schools to make sure every child knows how to swim and be safe in and around water by the end of primary school.

Working in partnership with Swim England and the Department for Education the initiative is supported by the £320 million PE and Sport Premium.

The extra support will help deliver the government’s sport strategy Sporting Future, which committed to ensuring that every child leaves primary school able to swim. It includes:

  • using the PE and Sport Premium for extra lessons for children who have not yet met the national curriculum expectation after core swimming lessons, and extra training for teachers on water safety and swimming techniques through courses provided by Swim England
  • extra guidance, provided by Swim England, will be available to help schools deliver safe, fun and effective swimming lessons
  • a drive to boost partnerships with independent schools to offer the use of facilities, coaching and other forms of support to schools in their area.