Improving access to swimming in rural coast Scotland
Happy Swimmers delivers essential swimming lessons for children in rural coastal communities with £8,000 of funding from the Co’path and Cove Community Fund.
About Happy Swimmers
Happy Swimmers is a constituted voluntary organisation officially established in March 2023, following a successful pilot project in Reston during 2022. The project operates across Berwickshire coastal communities, including Cockburnspath & Cove. The organisation's mission centres on enabling community members to learn to swim by removing cost barriers for individuals and families. Happy Swimmers provides free children's swimming lessons and subsidised swimming pool membership across all age groups.
The Challenge
This project addressed a critical gap in water safety education within Scotland's coastal communities. Unlike England and Wales, swimming is not mandatory in Scotland's primary curriculum, resulting in 40% of children leaving primary education unable to swim - one of the lowest proficiency rates in Europe. Scottish drowning rates are more than double England's per capita, a particular risk for coastal families. The cost-of-living crisis has also impacted families, with annual swimming lessons costing £300 per year, per child - equivalent to household electricity bills - forcing families to treat swimming as a luxury rather than an essential safety skill.
Project Scope
The project involved providing subsidised swimming lessons for 24 children with a focus on families facing financial hardship. Through negotiations with three local swimming pools (Duns, Eyemouth, and Dunbar), Happy Swimmers secured reduced annual rates of £250 per child, representing savings of approximately £50 per child, per year. The initiative operated on a referral basis, accepting applications from social prescribing bodies including health visitors, social workers, and GPs, as well as through direct family applications, which required a simple self-declaration of financial hardship.
Panel Consideration
The funding panel recognised the project's potential for significant community impact and the organisation's proven track record of supporting 19 local children to access swimming opportunities during the previous year. Particular attention was given to the project's alignment with community safety priorities and its role in addressing health inequalities.
Award Decision
The panel awarded the full £6,000 requested, but importantly, recognised the project's merit and community need. Realising the opportunity to maximise impact, the panel exercised its decision-making authority to award an additional £2,000, enabling support for a further eight young people. This brought the total award to £8,000, supporting 32 children rather than the original intended 24.
Community-Led Decision Making
Community benefit funds are most effective when decision-making remains rooted in local knowledge and understanding. The Co'path & Cove Community Fund demonstrates this principle through its panel of local decision-makers who possess an intimate knowledge and understanding of community needs, priorities, and the organisations best placed to deliver meaningful change.
This case study highlights how community-led panels can maximise impact by looking beyond the specific funding request to consider broader community benefit. When panels exercise their decision-making authority to award funding above requested amounts - as demonstrated in this case, where an additional £2,000 was awarded - they transform great projects into even greater ones. Local decision-makers can truly empower community organisations to achieve maximum impact for their communities.
Final Thoughts
This project demonstrates the important role community-led organisations play in addressing gaps in public service provision. Happy Swimmers' success illustrates how local groups can effectively coordinate resources, partnerships, and expertise to address complex social challenges that larger institutions struggle to resolve. Equally significant is the Co'path & Cove Community Fund panel's decision-making approach, which highlights how community-led funding can maximise impact. By awarding £8,000 instead of the requested £6,000, the panel demonstrated that effective grant-making involves recognising opportunities and empowering proven organisations to achieve maximum community benefit.
Read more about the Co’path and Cove Community Fund.