§ Ms AthertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he has given to local authorities regarding the provision of time for swimming within the national curriculum. [100229]
§ Jacqui SmithThe amount of time to be spent on swimming is not prescribed, but primary schools must ensure that, by age 11, pupils have been taught
48Wto swim unaided, competently and safely, for at least 25 metres;to develop confidence in water, and how to rest, float and adopt support positions;a variety of means of propulsion using either arms or legs or both, and how to develop effective and efficient swimming strokes on the front and the back;the principles and skills of water safety and survival.Swimming has remained a compulsory element of the primary curriculum between September 1998 and September 2000 (while the full programmes of study for the non core subjects have been relaxed to allow the literacy and numeracy strategies to be given priority) and will continue to be compulsory in the new National Curriculum for September 2000.