How Swim:ED Helped Netheravon Build Confidence, Swimming Skills and Water Safety
For many primary schools, delivering swimming provision means coach journeys, lost curriculum time, and a timetable that never quite fits. Netheravon Primary School knew this problem well. So when the opportunity came to bring a swimming pool onto the school site through PH ActiveEd's Swim:ED programme, Headteacher Rachael Banham decided to find out whether it could offer a better way.
Between 13 April and 8 May 2026, Swim:ED ran at Netheravon for pupils across the whole school, from Reception to Year 6. In total, 125 children took part. This case study looks at why the school made the change, what the experience was like, and the impact it had on pupils, staff and the wider school community.
The Challenge
Like many primary schools, Netheravon's traditional swimming arrangements came with a number of practical difficulties. The cost of coach travel to an off-site pool, roughly five miles away, was prohibitive. Getting pupils there and back also ate into a significant amount of curriculum time, and the whole school could never take part at once. On top of this, the external swimming timetable didn't always align with what worked best for the school, and for some children, the travel itself was overstimulating.
Netheravon wasn't simply looking for "better" swimming lessons. It needed a solution that was more flexible, more convenient, more affordable, and better suited to its own timetable and pupils.
Why Netheravon chose Swim:ED
Asked what drew the school to the programme, Rachael Banham was clear:
"The programme offered the flexibility, affordability and convenience that we were looking for."
These three factors: flexibility, affordability and convenience, were central to Netheravon's decision. They reflect what mattered most to this particular school, rather than a claim that Swim:ED will be the cheapest or most convenient option for every setting.
Building Confidence in the Pool
The impact on pupils became the standout part of Netheravon's experience. Rachael reported a significant increase in children's confidence in the water, and importantly, all children in the school participated at their own level and ability.
Two examples stood out. One child had been trying to pass a swimming level outside school for two years without success. After two weeks of repeated practice through Swim:ED at school, she achieved it - a striking illustration of what regular, accessible swimming opportunities close to home can do.
A Year 1 child told a similar story in miniature. At the start, this pupil didn't want to get into the pool at all. By the end of the unit, they were swimming across it.
Teaching Assistant Lucy Lawrence saw this development first-hand, describing a child who initially stayed on the step going on to swim across the pool and play happily — alongside broader gains in independence, including changing and self-care skills, over the four weeks.
One pupil summed up their own experience:
"The swimming was really good because we learnt how to swim and get better if we already knew. Thank you, Sarah, for teaching me. You taught me really well and were really caring. Sarah also taught me how to keep safe in the water which I didn't learn from my other swimming lessons."
More Than Swimming
Rachael noted that many children at Netheravon had either never swum before or rarely had the chance to. For them, Swim:ED offered a genuine opportunity to build a vital life skill: water safety, confidence, belief in their own abilities, and the willingness to step outside their comfort zone.
The programme also surfaced some unexpected, useful learning. Staff noticed that some children couldn't dress and undress independently, and some didn't know they shouldn't wear underwear beneath swimming shorts. Rather than a drawback, this became part of the wider value of the experience — a chance to build everyday independence alongside swimming ability.
It's also worth being honest about the other side of implementation. Like any change to school routines, it required some adjustment. Some staff found it more demanding to manage children moving in and out of sessions, or to be without a teaching assistant for extended periods. Even so, the school felt the benefits of swimming outweighed these challenges.
The Impact Across the School
Beyond the pool itself, the school noticed a calmer overall atmosphere. Rachael felt this was linked to children being physically tired and able to channel their energy constructively - something she observed was particularly noticeable for pupils who usually found sitting for long periods difficult.
The response extended into the school community too. Parents asked whether the school would have the pool every year, having seen how positive the experience was for their children. Visitors to the school were also struck by finding a swimming pool on the playground.
"The Swim:ED experience has, by far, been the best thing we have done this year. The support, expertise and nurture shown to the children has been second to none, and I would thoroughly recommend it to any school." - Rachael Banham, Headteacher, Netheravon Primary School
Could Swim:ED work for your school?
Netheravon's experience shows how bringing swimming provision closer to school can offer a flexible, engaging approach: one that supports pupils' confidence, swimming skills and water safety along the way. It won't look identical at every school, but for Netheravon, it was a change worth making.
Talk to PH ActiveEd about Swim:ED to find out more, discuss your school's requirements, and explore upcoming opportunities.
