2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated the extent to which swimming lessons are part of the school curriculum for primary school-aged pupils. (S6O-02943)

Schools in Scotland have the flexibility to decide on the content of their physical education lessons. The Scottish Government does not specifically evaluate the extent to which swimming lessons form a part of those decisions. We know that some local authorities offer swimming lessons as part of their physical education. In other cases, schools may take into account a range of factors, including the time that is required to travel to a swimming pool, in deciding against offering swimming lessons as part of PE.

However, the Scottish Government has been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland and other stakeholders to develop interventions and approaches to provide opportunities for children to become confident, competent and safer swimmers.

Learning how to swim is a life skill that has numerous physical, social and mental health benefits. I, and others, fully believe that every child should leave primary school having had the opportunity to learn to swim. Does the cabinet secretary agree that teaching our young people how to swim is an important skill that must be easily accessible to all across Scotland? Does the Government have any thoughts on how swimming lessons can be more embedded into the primary school curriculum?

The member raises an extremely important point. I agree that learning to swim provides many physical and mental wellbeing benefits, and we should be mindful of that in relation to curriculum for excellence entitlements. That is why, following the publication of the evaluation of the 2022-23 pilots, the Government and Education Scotland will to work with Scottish Swimming and sportscotland to look at the best approach for maximising the uptake of swimming among children and young people of school age. I am happy to ensure that the member is kept up to date on that work and I would welcome any further input that he may wish to provide on the matter.

Access to things such as swimming, sport, culture, languages and the arts is essential for young people to enjoy learning and become fit for the future, but some are worried that there is a lack of opportunity in those areas. I asked the Government about young people’s participation in cultural activities and was told that it tracked sporting, but not cultural, activity. Is the cabinet secretary confident that all young people have an equal opportunity to experience those things and will she commit to gathering data to ensure that they are?

The member raises an important point. As she will know, we are looking at what more we can do through the education reform agenda to ensure that those entitlements are met.

Curriculum for excellence provides a national curriculum that is not prescriptive, which is one reason why I cannot dictate that local authorities must deliver the swimming lessons mentioned in the previous question. I will speak to officials in relation to the specific point about cultural activity, to ensure that we are meeting those entitlements. That was one of the key recommendations that came from Professor Louise Hayward’s review and I am keen that we look again at those entitlements nationally to ensure equality of access to our curriculum.

The dangers of water are well understood in island communities such as Shetland. When I was a young child, I fell into Lerwick harbour and almost drowned. With that in mind, does the Scottish Government think that it is acceptable that 11-year-olds are leaving primary school without the life skill of being able to swim?

I thank the member for her question and for sharing some of her personal experience. I recognise the particular importance in island communities of having the skill of being able to swim.

As I intimated in my response to Ms Duncan-Glancy, I cannot mandate local authorities to deliver swimming education, but I am keen that we look at entitlements as part of our broader work with Education Scotland. The member’s point is hugely important and I would be keen to work with her, and with others who have an interest in the subject, to see what more we might be able to do to support schools.

We must also recognise that not all schools are in island communities and we must be mindful of local contexts and of the availability and accessibility of swimming pools. When I was at school, many years ago, we had a swimming pool in the school, but that is not the case in many schools in Scotland, so we must be mindful of the availability of swimming pools to ensure that we achieve the equity that Ms Duncan-Glancy spoke about.