Increase curriculum content about water safety as part of swimming lessons

As a country we see many water-related fatalities every year. We see many more call outs to water related incidents. Throughout lockdown year our coastguards were tasked to almost double the call outs than in the previous year. Our children NEED to learn about Cold water shock & rip currents.

I've been a water safety campaigner for nearly 10 years. In 2011 my 1st born son went for what he thought was an innocent swim, sadly it cost him his life.

Life's never been the same.

Many people lose their lives due to a slip, trip or fall. Runners, walkers & cyclists are all high-risk categories where drownings are concerned.

I've tried & failed many times to get water safety on the national curriculum.

The Government should review and enhance curriculum content on water safety, so schools are required to ensure that all children know about and know how to deal with issues such as cold water shock and rip currents.

It will soon be the 10-year anniversary of Dylan’s death. I never want you to feel the pain I do.

The Department expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dylan Ramsay. Too many people lose their lives to drowning incidents each year and the Department recognises the role that water safety education plays in helping prevent accidents.

Water safety is a vital life skill, which is why it is a mandatory part of the curriculum for Physical Education at primary school. The curriculum states that pupils should be taught to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. The Department recognises that children have missed out on opportunities to be taught how to swim and to be safe in and around water due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Department is continuing to work closely with Swim England, The Royal Life Saving Society UK, Canal and River Trust and the Association for Physical Education to support pupils being taught how to swim and to be taught water safety through a number of routes.

Swim England has produced guidance documents on school swimming and water safety. This includes a specific guidance document on teaching water safety at Key Stages 1 and 2 and covers aspects such as the water safety code, recognising hazards and cold water shock.

The PE and sport premium can be used by primary schools to support swimming and water safety, for example through ‘top-up’ lessons or additional teacher training. In addition, schools are able to access new virtual water safety lessons from Oak National Academy and the Department will be supporting the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in June 2021. New resources to support children with SEND to be taught how to swim and knowing how to be safe in and around the water have been developed through the Department’s Inclusion 2020 grant, which is led by the Youth Sport Trust. These resources are available on Swim England’s inclusion hub. At this time, Government has no plans to review current curriculum expectations for water safety.