Parkwood Leisure, one of the UK’s leading leisure operators, has reached the milestone of teaching 100,000 children to swim through its Learn To Swim Programme.

Based on the seven-stage national teaching syllabus devised by Swim England, Parkwood Leisure’s Learn To Swim Programme also incorporates dedicated safety outcomes endorsed by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS).

The programme aims to teach children to swim ‘Safer, Smarter, and Stronger’, with sites also encouraged to tailor their programming to educate children on specific local dangers and hazards. Parkwood Leisure operates 45 swimming pools across England and Wales.

With pools closed for extended periods as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, research by Swim England found that more than two million children missed out on swimming lessons. Since the reopening of facilities in April 2021, Parkwood Leisure has seen a 30% increase in children on its swim programme compared to pre-pandemic levels, with over 47,850 currently enrolled.

During this time, 285 new swim lesson instructors have been recruited in-line with customer demand, with more than 250 of these completing their Level 1 and Level 2 Swimming Teacher qualifications funded by Parkwood Leisure.

The success of the swim programme has been recognised by ukactive, who have named Parkwood Leisure as a finalist in the ‘Business Continuity, Recovery and Success following on from the COVID-19 Pandemic’ category at the upcoming ukactive Awards, with this year’s winners to be announced on 30th June.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Suzanne Gabb, Head of Aquatics at Parkwood Leisure, said: “To reach 100,000 learners is a fantastic achievement for our swim programme. What we offer at Parkwood is truly unique, and to know that we’ve been able to not only teach 100,000 children to swim, but also give them the broader knowledge, skills and understanding of the importance of water safety through our enhanced programme is something we are very proud of.”

This week also marks Drowning Prevention Week, an annual campaign led by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) to raise awareness of the importance of water safety. The campaign is being promoted across Parkwood Leisure’s facilities.

For more information about Parkwood Leisure’s Learn To Swim Programme, click here.

For more information about Drowning Prevention Week, click here.