New Report Calls for Improvements to Inclusive Swimming Opportunities

More must be done across the aquatics sector to improve inclusive and accessible swimming opportunities for children and young people, according to a new report published by SEN UK Swimming. The report - titled Swimming Without Barriers and thought to be the first of its kind - focused on the experiences of two key groups in the process: the parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and the swimming teachers trying to deliver lessons for them.

The result is less a single verdict than a shared picture — families continuing to hit real barriers when trying to access suitable lessons, and teachers who want to help but are in need of more specialist training and development to build the confidence and skills the job increasingly demands.

That distinction matters. It would be easy to read a report like this as evidence of a sector falling short and, in places, it is. But what comes through just as clearly is a swimming workforce that already wants to do better, and is asking for the tools to do it rather than resisting the responsibility. The report lands on five recommendations built from that: strengthening the workforce through training; embedding inclusive practice across provision; sharing good practice already working elsewhere; helping families make informed choices; and using evidence to drive long-term improvement.

Troy Parsonage, founder and CEO of SEN UK Swimming, framed the stakes plainly. "Every child deserves the opportunity to enjoy the physical, social and emotional benefits that swimming can provide, yet for many families of children and young people with SEND, finding suitable lessons remains a significant challenge," he said. He described the research as giving both families and swimming teachers a voice, in the hope that it encourages continued collaboration across the sector and provides a practical foundation for creating more inclusive opportunities for every child.

Dave Candler, CEO of STA, connected the findings directly to workforce development, saying swimming teachers are passionate about supporting every learner and continually developing their skills. He added that the report gives the sector evidence to inform future training and partnership working, and that investing in the workforce is how more children and young people with SEND get the chance to learn to swim with confidence.

It's a principle that holds well beyond swimming. Inclusion in any sport rarely fails because clubs don't care — it tends to fail because good intentions aren't backed by the right training, the right resources, or a genuine willingness to provide adapted sessions so that everybody is included. This report is aimed squarely at swimming providers, employers, training organisations, governing bodies, policymakers and funding organisations, but the underlying message applies to every grassroots sport still working out how to make "everyone welcome" true in practice, not just on a website.