Swim:ED redefines primary school swimming and water safety, by bringing it directly to your school. Picture a heated pop-up pool securely enclosed within a temporary modular structure on your playground. With qualified instructors and lifeguards, we eliminate the need for off-site travel, preserving precious study time. It’s more than convenience; it’s a commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, and vibrant learning environment, where every child acquires vital swimming and water safety skills. Dive into Swim:ED and navigate towards a future, where every pupil is confident, competent and safe in the water.
Swimming is an essential life skill. According to Sport England’s 2023/24 Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, the number of Year 7 pupils unable to swim 25 metres unaided has risen from 28% to 30% in 12 months.
Despite pockets of progress, the skills gap is expanding within most age groups. Compared to their 2017/18 classmates, 6% fewer 11 to 16-year-olds now reach the national curriculum target of swimming competently and confidently over 25 metres. Access is a critical concern, with instructor shortages, a shrinking pool stock, and spiralling operating costs limiting opportunities to learn core swimming and water safety skills.
But, in the 2024/25 school year, Swim:ED education resulted in a 157% increase in participating pupils able to swim 25 metres unaided. A 337% uplift in children able to demonstrate safe self-rescue in the water too. Our playground pools are here to stem the tide, ensuring every pupil is equipped with this life-saving skill.
Find out more about Swim:ED’s nationwide results below.
Choosing Swim:ED creates a streamlined, effective swimming programme in your primary school. Ensuring many distinct advantages, such as:
Swim:ED is an innovative programme that makes swimming education accessible and inclusive for every primary school. Let’s dive into its unique features:
Experience the positive impact of Swim:ED through the voices of our customers who’ve dived into our programme.
Swimming progress and attainment have improved at an incredible rate during the 6 weeks that the pop-up pool was on site. Our pupils have all developed their resilience and perseverance as well as their swimming skills for life.
Bonar Caswell
PE Lead, Willows County Primary School
The progress made by the children and the confidence they had in the water was more than we could have hoped for. All of the children loved the sessions and the small group numbers meant that lessons were individualised. The sessions ran smoothly with no disruption to the rest of the school.
Chris Hattam
Headteacher, Westbourne School
Swim:ED has revolutionised swimming lessons at Timberley Primary Academy, saving us logistical challenges and assisting
Year 6 attendance. With improved swimming skills and heightened water safety awareness, the impact on our children is beyond measure.
Ian Griffiths
Deputy Head, Timberley Primary Academy
Read our latest case studies pack to find out what happened when we put pools on four local playgrounds, at The Heights Primary School, Charville Academy, Surrey Street Primary School and Western House Academy.
“We greatly improved our swimming outcomes… and saved £7,000.” Greg Iszchak, Surrey Street Primary School
Every primary school is unique and when all costs are considered, Swim:ED is often more cost-effective than a traditional swimming programme. We offer delivery models over 5 to 7 weeks, accommodating up to 180 children in swimming and water safety lessons.
Easily navigate space challenges with our temporary changing rooms, starting at just £250, and enhance your Swim:ED journey by incorporating extra-curricular clubs into your programme, utilising Pupil Premium or PE and Sport Premium funding.
Introduce Swim:ED to your primary school in six simple steps:
Contact us to visit a pool and explore how Swim:ED can work for your school.
We assess your school, identifying the best location for your pool.
Now you can sign up for Swim:ED and we guide you through the whole process.
The excitement starts when your modular structure and pool are built.
Time for your pupils to experience quality swimming and water safety lessons.
Support with resources, assessments, and detailed reports.
We work with experts in high-quality modular structures, ensuring your pupils enjoy safe, secure, and efficient swimming lessons with minimal disruption to your school. Our temporary modular systems are quick to install, secure, and adhere to the highest safety standards, while preserving the integrity of your playground.
Where to start with improving your school’s swimming provision?
We’ve got just the tool for you. With the help of our friends at Swim England, we’ve developed the Primary School Swimming Review, designed to give you insights into your current swimming programme and help identify areas of improvement.
You’ll receive a FREE personalised report in four minutes or less showing how your school can improve swimming proficiency and water safety by answering a few simple questions.
Want to visit a Swim:ED pool at a local school, watch a lesson, ask questions and find out more about Swim:ED? Send an enquiry on the button below and we’ll be in touch quickly to arrange a visit.
“The impact of our partnership with Swim:ED and the installation of the pop-up swimming pool right here on our school site has been incredible. Thanks to this initiative, every child in Years 2, 3 and 4 has had the opportunity to learn to swim in a familiar environment, with trained coaches, small group teaching, and a tailored approach to individual progress.
The results have been exceptional – children who were previously hesitant around water are now swimming with growing confidence, many mastering key strokes and demonstrating vital water safety skills.
Learning to swim is not just a life skill – it’s a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum for PE. By the end of Key Stage 2, all pupils should be able to swim 25 metres confidently, use a range of strokes, and perform safe self-rescue.
For us, this takes on even greater importance. Our school is situated close to the River Thames and local reservoirs, and we know that being able to stay safe in and around water is absolutely essential for our pupils.
We’re incredibly proud of the progress our children have made – and grateful for the support of Swim:ED in helping us provide this vital part of the curriculum is such an accessible, high quality way.”
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