On Tuesday 16 June, 2026, Water Safety England launched a new framework for water safety education in England, designed to support all school-aged children and their families to build lifesaving skills and an understanding of the risks of water.
The National Water Safety and Swimming Competency Framework – launched at Parliament at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety Education – provides a strategic overview of the essential water safety skills, knowledge and key benchmarks that every child should know at each stage of their education. A supporting National Water Safety Education Pathway provides practical examples of how water safety education can be implemented in the classroom, including suggested activities, resources and lesson plans for pupils aged three to 18.
The resources will come into effect in schools from September 2026, when water safety education will be integrated into the Department for Education’s Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) statutory guidance for schools in England. The new guidance requires primary school children be taught how to recognise risk and keep safe around water, including the Water Safety Code. Secondary school pupils will learn how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent situations, how to recognise and manage peer influence, and the basics of first air, including lifesaving skills and how to administer CPR.
The National Water Safety and Swim Competency Framework has been developed by Water Safety England in partnership with water safety organisations, charities, educators and campaigners, including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Swim England, Canal & River Trust, Swimming Teachers Association, Greater Manchester Water Safety Strategic Partnership, Yorkshire Water and Durham County Council.
It has been developed with particular thanks to the families and friends with lived experiences of drowning who have campaigned tirelessly in memory of their loved ones for improvements to the accessibility of water safety education and swimming skills for all.
Darren Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen and Chair of the APPG for Water Safety Education, said:
“As many as 33 children die every year from drowning. That’s equivalent to a classroom of children whose lives are tragically cut short in the water. We know that increasing awareness of how to stay safe in or near the water is absolutely crucial to saving lives. I really welcome this new framework which will help support the much-needed inclusion of water safety as a mandatory part of the national curriculum and help ensure that it is being taught effectively and consistently.”
School Standards Minister, Georgia Gould, said:
"Every year, heartbreaking and preventable accidents happen in and around water – and we must do everything we can to stop them. Water Safety England's new framework is an important step towards ensuring every young person can look after themselves in and around water, and I want to thank everyone who helped make this happen. Swimming and water safety are vital life skills, already compulsory in the primary PE curriculum, and from September they will be a statutory part of our Relationships, Sex, and Health Education guidance too – giving every school the tools to support their pupils’ safety in different types of water.”
Professor Mike Tipton, Chair of Water Safety England, said:
“The introduction of this initiative represents a major step forward for water safety that should feed through into wider society. It is a "lesson for life" that will equip young people with the necessary skills and knowledge to mitigate the hazards associated with immersion in cold water and its devastating consequences.”
Carlene McAvoy, Head of Policy at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said:
“Consistent and comprehensive water safety education for children and young people is essential for reducing accidental drowning and water-related harm. Both the National Water Safety and Swimming Competency Framework and the supporting Water Safety Education Pathway will help embed essential lifesaving skills and water safety awareness into the curriculum in England – a significant and necessary step that will contribute to more people in England being safe while in, on or around the water.”
To view and download the National Water Safety and Swimming Competency Framework and supporting Education Pathway document, visit nationalwatersafety.org.uk/water-safety-england/water-safety-and-swimming-competency-framework.