Published  22nd December 2025

Royal Life Saving commits to working with NESA to strengthen the NSW PDHPE Syllabus

Royal Life Saving has been concerned by reports from swim schools and schoolteachers that recent changes to the NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) Syllabus 2027 may impact on the essential role that schools play in boosting swimming, lifesaving and water safety skills.

The NSW PDHPE Syllabus is developed by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and plays a critical role in setting expectations and educational frameworks that guide, amongst many things, the provision of swimming, lifesaving and water safety lessons in primary and high schools.

Royal Life Saving met with the NESA Executives on Thursday 18 December 2025. We are pleased that NESA shares a deep commitment to the safety and well-being of children around the water.

NESA has committed to working with Royal Life Saving, early in 2026, to review elements of the Syllabus, and strengthen the advice and support materials provided to schools, so that they can continue their critical role in water safety, both in the classroom and importantly, in swimming pools and at open water locations like beaches, rivers and lakes.

Royal Life Saving recognises that while schools and schoolteachers are often highly committed to swimming and lifesaving, they are often face pressures including the cost of buses or pool entry fees.

Royal Life Saving recognises that NESA has worked to strengthen a focus on safe behaviours around the water and has agreed to look more closely at the advice in relation to swimming and lifesaving skills.

For clarity, Royal Life Saving’s position is that being able to swim is critical to water safety, and that swimming and lifesaving skills are best taught in the water, usually at a local swimming pool or where safe to do so, in a bay, lake or beach. Classroom-based water safety knowledge activities are important, but they can’t replace being to achieve national swimming and water safety benchmarks.

Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, Chief Executive Officer, Dr Justin Scarr said,

“Royal Life Saving will work with NESA to ensure that the NSW PDHPE Syllabus reflects the important role that primary and high schools play in swimming, water safety and lifesaving, and that schools have the guidance to continue to provide in-water swimming and lifesaving lessons.

“In a place like Australia, all children, irrespective of postcode or background, should learn fundamental swimming, water rescue and survival skills. While classroom activities are great, you can’t take the water out of swimming lessons, and you really can’t take swimming out of water safety or lifesaving.”

“The decline in swimming skills across the population is a major driver of higher rates of drowning, especially over summer. We estimate that 50% of kids left primary school this year unable to swim 50m or float for 2 minutes – the national primary school swimming and water safety benchmark”

“Many kids start lessons very young, but finish too soon, often well before age 7 and before learning essential swimming, survival and lifesaving skills. Primary and high schools not only boost skills in older children but provide a safety net for children at risk of missing out.”

“The school swimming and lifesaving program has been a rite of passage for generations. It is how so many of us first learnt to swim, before moving to lifesaving lessons and the bronze medallion in high school – diving for bricks, swimming in pyjamas and learning CPR. We thank the Governments across Australia for their support for school swimming. It’s not only lifesaving but contributes to individual and community well-being”.

PDHPE Syllabus (2018) content we’d like to discuss re-emphasising in the 2017 Syllabus

Movement Skill and Performance (Stage 2)
How can we move our bodies to perform skills in different ways?

• perform and refine movement skills in a variety of movement sequences and contexts, for example
  • perform a range of water survival and water rescue skills, eg perform a surface dive and propel the body underwater to recover an object, float on front and back in deep water
  • coordinate kicking with arm movements to move the body in a streamlined position through the water on front and back to swim 25 metres

Movement Skill and Performance (Stage 3)
How can we adapt and perform movement skills in different situations?

Students:

• practise specialised movement skills and apply them in a variety of movement sequences and situations, for example:
  • perform a range of swimming and water rescue skills, eg freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, entry and exit in deep water, deep dive, rope rescue

Movement Skill and Performance (Stage 4)
How can I evaluate movement competence, adapt movement skills and apply these skills in dynamic movement situations?

• participate in a variety of movement activities to demonstrate and enhance body control, body awareness, object manipulation, anticipation and timing
  • demonstrate movement skills through a range of experiences, including rhythmic and expressive movement, individual/group/team physical activities, initiative/challenge physical activities, aquatics, and lifelong physical activities
  • participate in a range of swimming activities and rescue skills, eg stroke correction, timed tows, clothed rescue, games and sports

Movement Skill and Performance (Life Skills)
How do we experience a range of movement skills in everyday situations?

Students

• demonstrate gross motor skills in a range of movement contexts
  • develop gross motor skills through water-based activities, eg swimming, water games and sports

Strengthening school and vacation programs

Royal Life Saving Australia has a deep commitment to ensuring no child misses out on swimming and water safety education, with a long history of research, advocacy and policy positions on this issue.

Earlier this year, Royal Life Saving convened a roundtable of swimming and water safety experts from governments, education and academic sectors, aquatic facility and swim school managers, aquatic sports and aquatic based associations. The roundtable committed to 6-Point Plan of actions to:

• Ensure no child or adult misses out, irrespective of background and postcode.
• Increase retention in swimming and lifesaving lessons beyond age 7 years.
• Focus on youth and the covid generation who missed lessons.
• Boost government support for swimming and water safety programs.
• Embed the National Swimming and Water Framework and Benchmarks in all programs.
• Advocate for pool infrastructure and workforce sustainability.

You can learn more about our work and track record here: https://www.royallifesaving.com.au/educate-participate/swimming/swimming-and-water-safety-research