Inspire 2022 Commonwealth Games Legacy Project ‘Making a Difference’ to Pupils’ Lives

Learning water safety skills as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games legacy project has helped ‘make a difference’ to hundreds of pupils’ lives.

Primary schools across Birmingham and in the Black Country have been teaching dryside water safety skills in PE lessons, as well as receiving pool-based sessions for their year five and six pupils.

This support is part of Inspire 2022, a Sport England funded project delivered by Swim England, which aims to provide innovative and accessible opportunities to help people from all kinds of backgrounds be safe around water and participate in aquatics.

Interventions are targeting children who are not, or are highly unlikely, to reach school swimming attainment rates and may face barriers preventing them from accessing the opportunity to gain these lifesaving skills.

Schoolteachers involved in the project have highlighted the progress that can be made with a few additional hours in the pool.

One said: “Some learners couldn’t even stand up in the water without panic.

“Earlier today, two of those children completed 25m, one completed 15m and the others all went in the deep end without arm bands.

“The extra sessions have changed the lives of these children as they can now look after themselves in water.”

Read more HERE from the article, courtesy of Swim England.