Question reference: S6W-17621
- Date lodged: 2 May 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many children over the past five years have received swimming lessons through physical education classes at school.
Answer
The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people receive at least two hours of physical education per school week in primary schools, and at least two 50-minute periods of physical education per week in secondary schools - between secondaries 1 and 4.
Under the provisions of Curriculum for Excellence, schools and education authorities have the flexibility to decide upon the content of their lessons at the local level by taking into account the needs and circumstances of all children and young people in attendance. This includes taking decisions locally about the content of their PE lessons, where they can offer swimming lessons to their pupils if they wish to do so.
However, I recognise the importance of ensuring that all children can have equal opportunities to access swimming lessons, regardless of their families' social or economic circumstances. Therefore, we have been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland, sportScotland and Scottish Water to pilot bespoke interventions and approaches within local areas to provide opportunities for more children to become confident, safer and competent swimmers.