**Plaid Cymru Commits to Free Swimming Lessons for All Welsh Primary School Children in Bid to Tackle Drowning Rates**
In the run-up to next year’s Senedd election, Plaid Cymru has unveiled a major pledge aiming to improve water safety among Welsh children. The party has promised that, should it take office, all primary school pupils in Wales will be offered free swimming and water safety lessons, marking a potentially transformative shift in childhood education and public health.
The centrepiece of Plaid Cymru’s announcement is the planned National School Swimming and Water Safety Programme. This new scheme would entail each child receiving at least 20 swimming and water safety sessions in Years 4 and 5, with the intention of arming a new generation with crucial life skills.
The urgency of such an initiative is underscored by alarming statistics; drowning remains a significant cause of accidental death in Wales. According to current figures, the accidental drowning rate in Wales is over twice the United Kingdom average. The tragic loss of 15-year-old David Ejimofor in 2023, who died after entering the sea at Aberavon’s small beach, brought renewed scrutiny to this issue, with coroners warning that without change, further such incidents are inevitable.
Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for Sport, Heledd Fychan MS, expressed concern over the current state of swimming education in Wales. Alarmingly, official data released in 2024 revealed that only 35% of pupils in Years 3-6 have achieved basic swimming competence, with the figure plummeting as low as 16% in the Cardiff area. Speaking on the party’s policy, Fychan stated their commitment extends beyond public safety to a broader vision for public health: “Plaid Cymru’s new, fully costed National School Swimming and Water Safety Programme will teach every single child the skills they need to enjoy spending time in and by the water safely.”
Fychan emphasised the holistic benefits of swimming, stressing that childhood lessons can foster healthier, more physically active lifestyles and also improve mental wellbeing. “This is about more than just preventing tragedy,” she said. “Equipping our young people with these skills is part of a wider preventative health strategy — addressing root causes, not just reacting to consequences.”
Parents, educators, and advocates have voiced support for the proposal, viewing it as an overdue response to the growing number of children leaving primary school without basic water skills. Swim Wales, the governing body for aquatics in the country, welcomed the announcement. Its Chief Executive, Fergus Feeney, stated: “Being able to swim is a life skill that every Welsh child deserves. Today, fewer than 35% of Welsh children aged seven to eleven can swim. Unless we take urgent action, tens of thousands of children each year will be unable to stay safe around water.”
Feeney also pointed to the potential for Wales to set a benchmark across the UK, noting, “A universal school swimming offer would make Wales the first home nation with a comprehensive programme of this scale. This isn’t just about life and death — it’s about confidence, inclusion, and giving every child the chance to be fit and active.”
The proposal’s broader significance seems clear: as well as safeguarding young lives, it also takes aim at social inequalities, helping to ensure swimming is no longer an advantage reserved for more affluent families able to afford private lessons. Fychan affirmed this, saying, “Our plans are about fairness too — guaranteeing equal opportunity for every Welsh child, from every background, to gain a potentially life-saving skill.”
In recent years, several tragic incidents around Welsh waters have amplified calls for renewed focus on water safety education. Campaigners argue that, as climate patterns shift and holidaying at home grows more popular, even more children are at risk near coastal or inland waters if preventative action is not taken.
In the coming months, how Plaid Cymru’s plan will be received remains to be seen. However, the party is clearly betting that voters will respond positively to a pledge that places children’s health, safety, and wellbeing at the heart of its public health agenda. With drowning rates stubbornly high and large swathes of young people still unable to swim, Plaid’s promise has opened up a vital national conversation about safeguarding Wales’ next generation.