Swimming is a vital life skill and one of the most valuable activities in the PE curriculum. More than just a way to stay active, swimming builds confidence, improves health, and provides pupils with skills that last a lifetime.
So what are the benefits of swimming for primary pupils, why are swimming lessons such an important part of the curriculum, and how can you structure a swimming unit plan to maximise impact?
Why Teach Swimming in Primary Schools?
The National Curriculum for PE requires pupils to swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres using a variety of strokes and perform safe self-rescue by the end of Key Stage 2. Beyond meeting these statutory requirements, there are many other benefits to swimming.
Key Benefits of Swimming Lessons
1. Safety and Lifesaving Skills
Learning to swim is first and foremost about safety. With around 400 accidental drownings recorded in the UK each year, early swimming lessons help reduce risk by teaching children how to float, tread water, and self-rescue.
2. Building Self-Confidence
For many children, their only experience of swimming is curriculum PE. This is often combined with a natural uncertainty of being in deep water, meaning they feel unsafe. Overcoming those initial fears gives pupils a huge confidence boost that often transfers into other areas of life and learning.
3. Physical Benefits
Swimming provides a full-body workout that:
- Improves cardiovascular health
- Develops muscular strength and endurance
- Enhances flexibility and coordination
Because it’s low-impact, swimming is particularly beneficial for children who may struggle with high-impact activities on land.
4. Lifelong Activity
Unlike many physical activities, swimming is sustainable across all ages. Teaching children to swim at primary school means they have access to exercise they can continue throughout life, supporting long-term health and wellbeing.
Planning a Swimming Unit
A structured swimming unit plan ensures pupils develop their skills step by step. Effective units often include:
Water confidence activities
Games and basic movement in shallow water.
- Sharks and mermaids
· One swimmer is the shark, and all other swimmers are mermaids.
· Ensure all swimmers are in a position to walk across the bottom of the pool.
· The Mermaids job is to get from one side of the swimming area and back again without being tagged by the shark.
· If a mermaid is tagged they must freeze on the spot; another mermaid may free them.
· The mermaids are the winners if they all get from one side and back to the other without being frozen in the middle.
· The shark wins if they freeze all the mermaids.
Extension: Add in more sharks, increase the distance mermaids must travel, mermaids must travel in a certain way, e.g. hop, bounce etc.
Stroke development
Introducing front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke.
- Front Crawl Leg Action
· Effective leg action is essential for proper progression in front crawl and backstroke.
· The main propulsion and power for front crawl comes from the legs.
· Leg action should be constant and consistent.
Progressions to leg action:
· Float in front held with two hands
· Float in front held with two hands face in the water
· Remove float place hands in front with face in the water
Water safety
Floating, treading water, and rescue skills.
- How fast can you swim over 5, 10 and 15 metres?
· Put swimmers in groups of 3/4 each with a stopwatch.
· Mark out distances at the side of the pool, so pupils know distances to aim for.
· Talk about teamwork and perseverance when trying to improve during this challenge.
· Instruct pupils to take turns swimming each distance using, if possible, all the ways they can swim, e.g., sculling on the front, front crawl, swimming underwater, backstroke.
For ready-made resources and lesson plans to help you deliver practical swimming lessons, visit our free content section.