By the time a child is ready to leave primary school they should be able to swim, know how to get out of trouble if they fall into the water, know the dangers of water and understand how to stay safe when playing in and around it.  This includes understanding and adhering to national and local water safety advice, being able to use appropriate survival and self-rescue skills if they unintentionally fall in or get into difficulty in the water, and knowing what to do if others get into trouble. The reasons we believe School Swimming to be so important include:  

• It teaches pupils how to safely have fun in the water with family and friends, 

• Water safety is an essential life-saving skill, 

• Swimming provides numerous physical and mental health benefits throughout a pupil’s life, 

• Knowing how to swim confidently provides access to many other water-related activities and careers, 

• Learning about water safety in different water environments and situations is vital to staying safe in and around water. 

Year 5 children have a 10 week programme every Tuesday at The Centre, Farnham Road, Slough. They will travel by the school minibus. 

Level 2 Swimming Teachers from The Centre will take the lessons.  In addition to Level 2 Swimming Teachers, accompanying School Staff have also undertaken training in National Curriculum Swimming so they are able to work in partnership and support the School Swimming lessons - this enables high quality lessons through Swimming Specialism alongside National Curriculum knowledge (more information on this can be found - here).  

Within a class or year group, pupils are likely to hold a range of abilities in these areas. Regardless of prior swimming experience, it is important to ensure all pupils are offered the same lessons initially to provide consistency. This is particularly important with regard to the water safety lessons, as this is an area which can never be over-taught. Swim England have launched a Water Safety Code, information on this can be found here.  

Any pupils who are unable to meet these outcomes will be offered a Top-Up programme where they will receive further lessons to help them to progress to meet these outcomes.  For further information, please click here for Swim England’s  ‘A Guide for Parents’: 

National Curriculum Physical Education, more information can be found here.