If you lead swimming provision, inclusion is already part of your remit.
But here is the uncomfortable reality many schools are now confronting:
Some swimming models unintentionally exclude the very pupils they are meant to serve, not because of intent, but because of design.
SEND pupils, anxious pupils, and those with a history of low engagement are often the first to disengage from off-site swimming. Not because they can’t swim, but because the structure around swimming works against them.
Participation problems are rarely about attitude
When pupils avoid swimming, the explanation is often framed as individual reluctance:
- Anxiety
- Sensory sensitivity
- Behaviour
- Attendance issues
This framing is convenient and wrong.
In reality, traditional off-site swimming introduces multiple stressors before learning even begins:
- Unfamiliar public environments
- Noise, crowds, and sensory overload
- Disrupted routines and travel transitions
- Separation from trusted adults
For many pupils, particularly those with SEND or Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), these conditions make participation fragile at be stand impossible at worst.
When schools accept this as inevitable, exclusion becomes normalised.
What changes when the environment changes
Schools delivering swimming on-site are seeing a different pattern.
Not because expectations are lowered, but because barriers are removed.
When swimming takes place in a familiar setting, within predictable routines, pupils who previously avoided lessons begin to attend consistently.
The shift is structural, not behavioural.
Case study: Mill Lodge Primary - access before intervention
Mill Lodge Primary School in Solihull provides a clear example.
The school’s Rainbows ARC supports pupils with complex needs, including autism and sensory processing differences. Off-site swimming was not feasible due to transport complexity, supervision requirements, and the sensory demands of public pools.
As a result, ARC pupils had been unable to access curriculum swimming at all.
When swimming was delivered on site:
- ARC pupils accessed swimming for the first time
- Staff reported improved emotional regulation, particularly after sessions
- Attendance during delivery was the highest of the academic year
Inclusion was achieved without parallel provision, additional staffing models, or bespoke interventions.
The environment did the work.
Attendance is not a side effect, it’s a signal
Several schools report improved attendance during on-site swimming periods.
This matters.
Attendance improves when pupils feel safe, competent, and successful.
At Percy Shurmer Primary Academy, leaders reported:
- Improved attendance during the swimming programme
- Increased enthusiasm and engagement across classes involved
At Chapmanslade C of E Primary School, pupils experiencing EBSA showed dramatic attendance improvements during delivery, in some cases approaching full attendance.
These outcomes are not accidental.
They signal that the learning environment has shifted from something pupils endure to something they choose to attend.
Inclusion without added complexity
A common assumption is that inclusive swimming requires more:
- More staff
- More interventions
- More specialist provision
Schools delivering swimming on site are reporting the opposite.
Inclusion has been achieved through:
- Small, consistent groups
- Familiar environments
- Predictable routines
- Regular sessions that build confidence gradually
SEND pupils participate more fully not because expectations are lowered, but because conditions are stable.
For PE Leads, this matters because inclusion is achieved through design, not through increased workload.
The question this raises for PE Leads
If you are responsible for swimming provision, there is a difficult question to confront:
Does our current model support participation or does it quietly exclude some pupils by default?
Schools that have changed where swimming happens are answering that question differently.
Test inclusion in practice
If you want to examine how on-site swimming supports inclusion, confidence, and attendance alongside curriculum outcomes, you can:
• Join a Discovery Webinar (5 March or 22 April), where delivery structure and staffing are explained in detail.
• Download the Swim:ED Impact Report for SEND, EBSA, and attendance case studies
Both options are designed to support informed, defensible decision-making, without obligation.
Download the case studies