Making a splash: Swansea swim school wins gold accreditation from Swim Wales

The charitable and not‑for‑profit trust, which manages 29 leisure centres across Wales, was awarded the highest quality mark available for delivering the Learn to Swim Wales programme. The Gold Accreditation recognises excellence in governance, sustainability and effectiveness in swimming education, going beyond basic industry standards and safeguarding guidelines.

A milestone for Swansea

Freedom Leisure manages Swansea’s leisure centres on behalf of the city council and currently supports around 4,000 swimmers through its Learn to Swim programme. The scheme is delivered by a highly skilled team of teachers, offering lessons to both children and adults.

Chief Executive Officer Ivan Horsfall Turner said the award was a proud moment:

“We are delighted to have been Gold Accredited by Swim Wales for our Learn to Swim programme and extremely proud to be the first leisure operator in Wales to have achieved this accolade.”

He added that the partnership with Swim Wales helps provide children and adults with confidence in the water, particularly important in coastal areas such as Swansea.

Recognition from Swim Wales

Swim Wales Chief Executive Officer Fergus Feeney praised the achievement:

“This distinction demonstrates a sustained commitment to excellence in swimming education, ensuring that children and adults across Swansea have access to the highest standard of opportunities to acquire a vital life skill.”

Learn to Swim Manager Hanna Guise added that Freedom Leisure had shown “just how committed they are to providing their learners with the highest quality learn to swim offer,” setting a benchmark for other providers.

Local impact

Cllr Andrew Stevens, Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure, said the award reflected the quality and dedication of the team:

“It’s reassuring to know that our leisure centres – run on behalf of the council by Freedom Leisure – are providing such high‑quality tuition that is recognised nationally.”

He added that the recognition highlighted the strength of the partnership between Swansea Council and Freedom Leisure, delivering opportunities that benefit residents of all ages.

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In partnership with Freedom Leisure, the ‘Swim Together’ project will involve running group sessions at indoor pools, which are specifically designed to help improve participants’ mental health. 

The project builds on the success of Mental Health Swims’ existing UK-wide network of outdoor swim groups and will make their support more accessible to those with disabilities and limited mobility, as well as people living in inner city areas.

As with their outdoor groups, sessions are centred around using peer support to help people to feel seen and understood. 

The first phase of Swim Together Wales, announced today, will begin at the LC Swansea early next year, with the aim of rolling it out to pools across Wales over the next few years.

Swim Together was piloted last year in Warwickshire and is already being rolled out in parts of England. Once the initial phase of the project is up and running in Swansea, individuals will be referred through GPs, social prescribers, and other healthcare professionals.

Tim Georgievsky, Healthy Communities Officer at Freedom Leisure said:

“The opportunity to collaborate with Mental Health Swims on setting up a Swim Together session was a no-brainer.

“The importance of looking after our mental health has been well documented over the last few years and rightly so, but it’s still something that needs to continue and that’s what we are aiming to do with setting this up. 

“At Freedom Leisure our mission statement is ‘improving lives through leisure’ and I can’t think of a session that would echo this more than a Swim Together session.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing this session grow and hopefully expand across more of our Freedom Leisure sites, with the overarching goal of helping as many people as possible who are dealing with mental health.”

Mental Health Swims was set up in 2019 by Swansea resident Rachel Ashe MBE when she was searching for a welcoming, inclusive space that actively supports those struggling with their mental health.

After experiencing the benefits of outdoor swimming herself, she set up a regular outdoor swim group at Caswell Bay.

This soon became Mental Health Swims, which was set up with the aim of creating a community where people living with mental health issues could connect with others while experiencing the benefits of swimming. Since then, the organisation has trained over 350 volunteers who have set up more than 150 outdoor swim groups across the UK.

Rachel Ashe MBE, Founder of Mental Health Swims, said:

“We are delighted to be launching Swim Together in Swansea. In partnership with Freedom Leisure, we will provide support to many of the people who need it most.

“With the demand for mental health services steadily rising in the UK, this work is more important than ever.”

Victoria Waters, Partnership and Participation Manager at Swim Wales added: 

“We at Swim Wales recognise the significant impact the aquatic environment can have on both physical and mental health.

“As health is a key pillar of our YMLAEN Strategy, we are delighted to see initiatives like this taking place in a Welsh pool. We are committed to supporting growth with the goal of creating a healthier, happier nation through aquatic activity.”

[Lead image: Mental Health Swims]

https://swanseabaynews.com/2024/10/18/mental-health-swims-launches-new-project-in-swansea-to-support-local-community/

#FreedomLeisure #mentalHealth #MentalHealthSwims #SwimTogetherWales #SwimWales