Petition

Make school swimming and water safety a protected core part of education

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Require every child to receive adequate swimming and water safety education
We believe every child should leave primary school able to swim and understand the dangers of rivers, lakes, canals and open water.

Swimming is a life-saving skill, yet many children leave school without meeting the expected standard.

We want the Government to fund swimming lessons, provide practical water safety education and offer catch-up lessons for children who cannot swim confidently.

Better swimming and water safety education could help prevent drownings and save lives.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

Education on water safety is already in the school curriculum and we have this petition open (below) on strengthening provision of such education, which you may wish to sign:

Provide extra funding to primary schools for swimming and water safety

Timeline

5 Jun 2026 Petition opened for signatures
8 Jul 2026 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 8 Jul 2026

Follow this petition

Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.

Source: the official petition page. Last checked 27 Jul 2026.