Calls to boost child swim skills after water deaths

Campaigners have urged the government to increase the number of children learning to swim at school following a spate of water-related deaths in recent heatwaves.

Youngsters should leave primary school being able to swim 25 metres - but figures from Swim England show only 75% of pupils in Yorkshire were able to do so.

Many children may never learn to swim because of a lack of access to lessons and swimming pools, say advocates.

The government said swimming was a "vital life skill" and pledged to increase access and improve attainment as well as ramping up water safety knowledge.

Mum Emma, who is unable to swim, said accessing learner classes for her daughter Darcy was a "priority".

She explained that she had "bad experiences" as a youngster trying to learn.

"I probably should try and get over the fear because as soon as I get into water up to my face level I'm scared," she said.

Emma called for an increase in school swimming alongside more awareness of water safety.

Over the summer months this year, Yorkshire has so far seen at least four deaths in open water - including 13-year-old Palwasha Akbar, from Bradford, who died after getting into difficulty in the River Wharfe near Burnsall on 31 May.

A few days earlier, 13-year-old Reco Puttock died after he was pulled from Leadbeater Dam in Halifax.

Muhammed Secka, 16, died after getting into difficulty in a lake in Rother Valley Country Park, South Yorkshire, on 25 May.

His inquest was told he was unable to swim.

Eleven-year-old Mackenzie Swift died after going missing in the River Don in South Yorkshire on 30 May.

There have been at least 29 deaths in open water across the UK since the spell of record-breaking hot weather, which began in May.

Darcy is just one of many children learning to swim across Yorkshire in private lessons, despite the national curriculum guidelines.

Swim England, the sport's governing body in England, said about 33,000 youngsters a year were unable to swim the 25m requirement when they left primaries.

In Yorkshire and the Humber over recent years the number of pools has dropped.

Between 2010 and 2026, 112 pools closed in the region and, although some have opened, there has been a net loss of 61 pools.

Earlier this month King Edward's Swimming Pool Trust made the decision to permanently close the Sheffield facility and advised that "it can no longer operate the facility safely and sustainably".

Last year, Bradford Council announced it was planning to sell Bingley Swimming Pool five years after it closed during the Covid pandemic.

And Dewsbury has been without a pool since the sports centre closed permanently in 2024 after the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac).

Sport England said that an ongoing national curriculum review in England presented an "opportunity to put school swimming and water safety at the heart of the PE syllabus".

Mother-of-six Tory Whittaker said she was "devastated" by the number of recent water deaths and, as a business owner, wanted to do something about it.

She owns the franchise for Water Babies swim schools in North Yorkshire and said her company had offered schools in the area free sessions on water safety.

Whittaker highlighted figures from the Royal Life Saving Society which said 31 children died from drowning in England last year with 50% in inland lakes and rivers.

"We created some water safety talks in schools for Early Years and Key Stage 1; how to be safe in water, recognise beach flags, swimming with an adult.

"And for older children, deaths have increased in 13-17 year olds, so we wanted to educate around peer pressure and river or lake swimming when they are out with their friends."

In North Yorkshire, the county's police run safety sessions on a number of topics to Year 6 pupils under the Crucial Crew brand.

The Rivers and Canals Trust delivered a number of sessions on water safety and a spokesperson stressed the importance of education - especially following recent incidents.

Camblesforth Primary School Assistant Head Deborah Eckley was at one of the sessions with pupils and was clear about the dangers for young people: "We are living in an area where we do have a lot of water surrounding us.

"We have rivers and canals so they do need to be equipped with the knowledge on how to stay safe but also how to say no to peer pressure."

Georgia Gould MP, government minister for school standards, said every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim before leaving primary school.

"Schools receive core funding for curriculum activities, including PE, which can be used for swimming lessons and transport," she added.

The Department for Education said it would be increasing funding for PE.

"Increasing access and improving attainment in swimming and water safety will be key priorities for the new PE and School Sport Partnerships network," a spokesperson said.

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