Chamber and committees

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills submission of 17 September 2021

PE1891/A: Make swimming lessons a statutory requirement in the primary school curriculum

I am responding to the Committee on behalf of the Scottish Government in relation to Petition PE1891 raised by Lewis Condy, which calls for swimming lessons to be made a statutory part of the primary school curriculum in Scotland, since this issue falls within my ministerial policy portfolio.

I know that all members of the Committee will share the Scottish Government’s shock and sadness that, over the course of one incredibly tragic weekend in late July, there were 5 separate incidents that ultimately led to the loss of 7 lives by drowning. Our thoughts are with the victims and also with those who have drowned at other times and places. Every loss of life by drowning is heart-breaking, and our deepest sympathies go out to the bereaved families, friends and loved ones.

Firstly, with regard to the provision of swimming lessons in Scottish schools, under the provisions of Curriculum for Excellence there is no mandatory curriculum in Scotland, and therefore local authorities and individual schools have the flexibility to decide upon the content of their own lessons at the local level, ideally taking into account the local needs and circumstances of all children and young people in attendance. I am aware that some local authorities already do offer swimming lessons to school pupils as a part of the physical education classes. Also, in the 2018-19 academic year (the most recent year for which data is available), 21 local authorities were offering swimming lessons through their Active Schools programme.

Despite this I fully recognise that opportunities to participate in swimming lessons, both inside and outside of school, have been hampered over the past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after our move beyond Level 0 on 9 August, most of the remaining restrictions on the aquatic sporting environment have eased further or been removed. The National Learn to Swim Framework, which is supported by Scottish Water and delivered by aquatic partners every week, already helps children to become safe, competent, and confident swimmers and these water safety themed lessons are an essential part of the Framework to help educate on water safety.

We are of course determined to do what we can to avoid any repeat of the recent tragic incidents. On 1 September, Scottish Swimming published their guidance ‘Back to the Water, which is available through the following web link: https://www.scottishswimming.com/media/3389208/ss-beyond-level-0-guidance-01sept2021_final.pdf (scottishswimming.com)

It is important to recognise the difference between swimming in a heated indoor swimming pool and in a cold water loch or reservoir, and that that accidental drownings can affect people who can swim as well as those who can’t. With this in mind I believe that, in addition to education, there is also a role for signage and for life-saving equipment to be located near outdoor open water sites.

While recognising that teaching children and young children to swim is a priority, our emphasis continues to be on personal responsibility, good practice and informed judgement. Recently, my colleague the Minister for Community Safety chaired a meeting with a range of stakeholders including the emergency services, and representatives from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the RNLI, Education Scotland and Water Safety Scotland among others. This meeting reflected on those tragic incidents and provided everyone in attendance with an opportunity to look at what more can be done to mitigate risks and to educate people about the dangers of Scotland’s coastal and inland waters. Another meeting has been convened to take place on 22 September to assess what further effort is required to ensure greater protection for the public around areas of water in future.

Moving forward, we will work with stakeholders to consider greater opportunities for children and young people to engage with community swimming lessons along with considering wider water safety issues such as the importance of floating to live, and the dangers of cold water shock.