The Swimming Alliance Framework Launches to Help Every Child Swim 25 Metres
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The Swimming Alliance is a framework designed to support the ambition that every child can swim at least 25 metres before leaving primary school.
Swimming is a vital life skill that promotes safety, confidence, health and wellbeing. Yet too many children currently miss the opportunity to achieve this important milestone. Current statistics show roughly 1 in 4 children leave primary school without these basic skills. The new framework brings together schools, local authorities, leisure providers, swimming teachers and community partners to improve access, reduce barriers and create consistent opportunities for all young people to learn to swim.
By providing clear guidance, shared objectives and practical support, the framework aims to strengthen partnerships and drive collective action across communities. The focus is simple but powerful: ensuring that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, has the chance to develop the confidence and competence to swim 25 metres safely.
The launch marks an important step towards reducing inequalities in swimming participation and improving water safety outcomes for future generations. Through collaboration, commitment and a shared vision, The Swimming Alliance is championing a future where every child has the opportunity to enjoy the lifelong benefits of swimming.
This new framework will help every child achieve 25 metres and gain a skill that could save their life.
Every Child Deserves the Chance to Swim
Supporting Primary Schools to Achieve National Swimming Targets
Swimming is more than just a sport – it is a life-saving skill. In England, swimming and water safety have been a statutory part of the national curriculum since 1994, recognising the vital role these skills play in keeping children safe and active throughout their lives.
Primary schools play a crucial role in ensuring that every child leaves education with the confidence and competence to be safe in and around water. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are expected to:
Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres.
Use a range of strokes effectively, including front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke.
Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
These targets are not arbitrary. Drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death among children, and strong swimming and water safety skills can significantly reduce risks. Teaching children how to float, tread water, signal for help and safely exit the water can make a life-saving difference.
The Challenge Facing Schools
Despite swimming being a national curriculum requirement, many children still leave primary school without meeting the expected standard. Research and national monitoring have consistently shown that only around half of pupils achieve all three curriculum outcomes by the end of primary school.
Schools often face challenges including:
Limited pool access.
Transport costs.
Curriculum time pressures.
Varying levels of confidence among pupils.
The need for additional support for non-swimmers and less confident swimmers.
These barriers highlight the importance of strong partnerships between schools, swimming providers and local swimming alliances.
How the Swimming Alliance Can Help
The Swimming Alliance is committed to supporting schools to achieve and exceed national curriculum expectations. By working collaboratively with schools, local authorities, leisure providers and swimming teachers, they can help ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop essential swimming and water safety skills.
Key areas of support include:
Delivering high-quality swimming lessons aligned to national curriculum outcomes.
Providing targeted interventions and top-up lessons for pupils who have not yet reached the 25-metre benchmark.
Promoting water safety education alongside practical swimming skills.
Sharing best practice and resources with schools and teachers.
Supporting schools in tracking and reporting swimming attainment.
A Shared Responsibility
Swimming is the only sport specifically included as a statutory requirement within the primary PE curriculum. This underlines its unique importance as both a physical activity and a life skill.
Every child should have the opportunity to enjoy the water safely, whether swimming for recreation, participating in aquatic sports, or spending time with family and friends. Achieving the national curriculum targets is not simply about meeting a requirement, it is about equipping young people with confidence, resilience and skills that could one day save their life.
Together, schools, families, swimming providers and the Swimming Alliance can ensure that no child misses out on this essential learning experience.
Their target is for every child to leave primary school with the ability to swim 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively, and perform safe self-rescue in the water.
