National Curriculum Requirements
‘Since 1994, swimming and water safety has been a statutory element of the national curriculum for physical education in England. This means that every 11-year old child should leave primary school with the skills to keep themselves safe while enjoying swimming with friends and family.
Swimming is the only sport to be included within the national curriculum physical education programme of study. All primary schools must provide swimming and water safety lessons in either Key Stage 1 or 2. Each pupil is required to be able to achieve the above 3 criteria.’
Swim England
OUR MISSION
Every Child a Successful Swimmer
We aim to work with Schools to achieve a shared vision by:
Ensuring Children’s’ success is at the heart of everything we do.
Deliver programmes that are high quality, enjoyable, inclusive and rewarding.
Collaborating and responding positively to feedback, lessons learned, ideas and innovations.
Encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and pathways to lifelong participation.
Being accessible and providing value for money locally.
Our Offer to Schools
Swimming isn’t just a sport – it’s a vital life skill. At Sheffield School Swimming, we help primary schools across the city and surrounding areas meet national curriculum requirements while giving pupils the confidence and ability to stay safe in and around water.
We offer schools an 18 week block or a 36 week block of swimming with one 40 minute lesson per week.
We also offer early intervention and top up lessons to enable schools to met the national curriculum standards.
EXPERT LEVEL 2 QUALIFIED SWIMMING TEACHERS
We aim to provide three Swim England level 2 qualified teachers for each lesson allowing for small group ratios and tailored instruction.
NATIONAL CURRICULUM SCHEME OF WORK
Our scheme of work is specifically designed around the national curricumum swimming requirements for schools and is different to private swimming lessons.
AFFORDABLE TRANSPORT OPTIONS
Need help getting to the pool? We can arrange low-cost coach transport to and from your school.
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Every child receives an achievement certificate, and we award “Swimmer of the Week” medals to celebrate progress.
PROGRESS TRACKING MADE EASY
Our Swimphony online system lets you upload pupil details and monitor progress week by week.
PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE
As part of Sheffield City Council we have public liability insurance in place.
POOL RISK ASSESSMENTS
We can provide schools with the risk assessment for each swimming pool we use, which are reviewed annually.
SAFETY AND ASSURANCE
All staff are DBS-checked and undertake Sheffield City Council’s child protection training.
Swimming Pools
We provide lessons from swimming pools all across Sheffield. Our aim is for pupils to swim at their local swimming pool to increase the chances of life long participation.
Concord Sports Centre, Shiregreen Lane, Sheffield, S5 6AE
Graves Health and Sport Centre, Bochum Parkway, Sheffield, S8 8JR
Heeley Pool and Gym, Broadfield Road, Sheffield, S8 0XQ
Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Beulah Road, Sheffield, S6 2AN
Mylnhurst Swimming Pool, Button Hill, Sheffield,
S11 9HJ
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheaf Street, Sheffield, S1 2BP
Springs Leisure Centre, East Bank Road, Sheffield, S2 2AL
Stocksbridge Community Leisure Centre, Moorland Drive, Stocksbridge, Sheffield, S36 1EG
Thorncliffe Health and Leisure Centre, Pack House Lane, High Green, Sheffield, S35 3HY
Westfield Sport Centre, Eckington Road, Sheffield, S20 1HQ
Zest Centre, 18 Upperthorpe, Sheffield,
S6 3NA
In the 2025/2026 Academic Year
Our results from all schools (Infant, Junior, Primary, Special) including early intervention and top up lessons.
PUPILS LEARNING TO SWIM
PUPILS SWIMMING 25M
PUPILS PERFORMING A SAFE SELF-RESCUE
PUPILS PERFORMING A RANGE OF STROKES
SCHOOLS BUYING INTO THE SERVICE
POOLS IN SHEFFIELD
Further Opportunities
Young people of all ages and abilities in Sheffield have the opportunity to access a variety of Aquatic disciplines, whether that’s learning to swim, training and competing in competitive swimming, diving, joining a water polo club or simply enjoying a family swim at your local swimming pool.
In Sheffield we are lucky to have world class facilities and clubs.
School Testimonials
Don’t take our word for it – here’s what our schools say:
I just wanted to let you know our Y4’s went back to swimming at Spring’s this morning – they have come back delighted with how it went. The teachers have told me how well organised it was and how welcome they felt, so a big thank you from us as I know how hard it is to get things going again!
My class have been going swimming for the last 12 weeks and it has been such a buzz to see the progress the children have made- we have had children who have been worried or anxious in week one and by the end of the block have been swimming independently. It has been the highlight of my week!
Staff are amazing! Supportive of children’s needs yet still encourage development of skills at an appropriate level.
The swimming instructors are amazing at their jobs and all are friendly.
Our Team
Our team is full of experience and passion to teach pupils to swim. Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death in children and we want to do all we can to reduce this.
If you are a qualified swimming teacher and would like to join our team
as a casual swimming teacher, please apply through the
Rachel Jones
Team Leader
Karen Sayles
School Swimming Coordinator
Kim Murphy
Business Support Officer
Contact Us
If you are a school and would like to speak to us about buying swimming lessons including catch up and early intervention; please use the contact form below and we will get back to you.
If you are a parent or carer, please contact your school with any questions about your child’s school swimming lessons.
