Exclusive
Nearly half Welsh primary school children are unable to swim, shock new figures reveal
4 August 2022, 13:41
Nearly half of children in Wales are leaving primary school without the ability to swim, LBC can exclusively reveal.
Several young people have died in drowning tragedies in Wales since the summer began.
Concerns have now been raised about the about number of children who missed out on swimming lessons because of the Covid pandemic.
Research by Swim Wales, the sport’s governing body in the country, have found just 52% of pupils moving to high school have the life-saving skill.
Nearly 50% of children in Wales leave primary school unable to swim
Rhys Jones, who runs leisure centres in Cardiff said: “Coming out of the pandemic we saw a lot of children not being able to swim.
“The incidents of children coming into the pool and not being able to swim was really noticeable. As a dad I’m really concerned about it.
“Children are kind of fearless and don’t really understand but this is a really serious issue.”
Across Wales, there are nearly 500 swimming pool which were closed during the pandemic.
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Fergus Feeney, CEO of Swim Wales, said: “We’ve recorded 15 million missed lessons and for a population of our size that’s a really big number.
“The pretty scary figure is only 52% of children are leaving key stage 2, or primary school, with the ability to swim. “We have a lost year, possibly a lost generation. It is a concern”.
Mr Jones believes the best way to address the skill gap is to ring-fence money in schools that can only be used to provided swimming lessons.
“We’d got to make sure our children are safe around the water.
“School swimming is the way. With the cost of living and things being more unaffordable, with food and energy prices going up, swimming may not be something families are not able to afford.
“School swimming will capture those children and give them all the chance to make sure they are safe around water”.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The statutory guidance on our new curriculum, which all schools must consider, states that learning should include lifesaving skills.
“We expect that swimming should be one of the range of physical activities that learners participate in. Learners should have opportunities for a range of physical activities that are both enjoyable and meaningful.”
