In partnership with Greenwich Hospital
Swim Free enables children and young people from serving Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary families to develop and grow their confidence in and around the water.
The programme delivers free swimming lessons aligned to the Swim England and Scottish Swimming pathways and establishes the foundations for developing swimming skills for life and potential career opportunities in the future.
The programme enables young people to discover new swim skills and develop an affinity with the water. Research shows that water-based activities can increase physical and mental resilience in young people and help to improve their confidence and self-belief.
Swim Free initially piloted in Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Helensburgh, with plans to establish a comprehensive network of swimming locations across the UK.
Involving Naval families in their local communities is an integral part of Swim Free. The programme provides family swimming sessions as well as highlighting other water-based activities. Swim Free works with local swimming facilities to support families who may struggle to access them, creating opportunities to bring Naval communities together.
2024 saw the launch of the Swim Free, a brand-new programme – funded by Greenwich Hospital and delivered through the ASF – for children and young people from serving Naval families to learn how to swim.
The ASF is delighted to partner with Greenwich Hospital to develop and deliver the Swim Free programme. Through Swim Free, we hope to reframe the challenges that young people from Naval families may face by providing access to the benefits of a physical education through enriching experiences and setting young people up with swimming skills for life.”
Richard Percy
CEO Andrew Simpson Foundation
Our vision is to enable children and young people from the Naval community to have access, without barriers, to additional swimming lessons, providing them with the opportunity to become confident swimmers throughout their lives. We want to create pathways for further opportunities in and around the water for all Naval families.”
Deirdre Mills
Director of Greenwich Hospital
From brand creation and digital infrastructure, to direct delivery and family engagement, our development team spearheaded this initiative. Our team developed a clear and approachable visual identity, built a custom website to manage bookings, and implemented a tailored CRM system to streamline registrations, communication, and participant tracking.
To ensure the programme is both impactful and responsive, we’ve embedded bespoke reporting tools that generate real-time insights into participation, outcomes, and areas for development. In parallel, we manage all communications and outreach, creating social media content, press materials, and tailored comms strategies to maximise reach, celebrate achievements, and connect more families to this vital support.
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