We have been pleasantly surprised since the return of the Manchester School Swimming Programme in September, 78% of the schools returned following consultation over the Summer period where MCRactive worked with all 5 pool operators (GLL, Everyone Active, Love Withington Baths, Broadway Community Development Group and Wright Robinson High School) to ensure the sessions could be delivered safely.     There are currently 171 sessions being delivered per week across 10 facilities. There are a total of 6,255 pupils attending per week and since the programme has returned since September the distance swam by our pupils is approximately 5,000,000 metres, equivalent to 3,106 miles. This is like swimming from Manchester to Montreal, Canada. We kept in communication with all schools to provide them with regular updates throughout the summer holidays and shared all guidance and resources with them, this obviously gave them confidence that processes and operations within the centres were to a high standard.    Manchester is one of a small number of programmes that have started back up across the whole of the country; and here in Manchester we are committed to ensuring that we support schools in delivering the compulsory element of the key stage 2 National Curriculum, whereby all pupils by the time they leave primary school should be able to achieve the following –    1. Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations 2. Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres 3. Use a range of strokes effectively, for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke.   The support from the schools is fantastic as they understand the importance of teaching their pupils to swim – “Thanks very much for making sure that our children can still access Manchester swimming lessons. Our children love swimming and we have worked hard with your team to ensure that all children learn to swim before they leave primary school. We did Risk Assess the first swimming lessons in September and were very impressed with the standard of safety and care at Arcadia  leisure centre. Much appreciated” Head teacher   Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure, Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE, said:

We’re proud to support the significant work taking place across Manchester to ensure the successful roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination testing, with the Manchester Tennis & Football Centre on the Etihad Campus chosen as a venue to vaccinate the public and some NHS staff. Up to 1,000 people a day are expected to be given their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine at the Etihad campus by next month. The vulnerable and elderly will be first to be offered a coronavirus vaccine. The mass vaccination centre will be used to support GPs in primary care which should be carrying out the 'largest element' of the vaccination programme. Please be aware that the centre is still open for football and tennis bookings with additional measures and guidance introduced for all. Visit FACILITIES for more information. 

The Providers Portal is a unique shared data platform managing sport and physical activity information, content and inspiration across MCRactive.com. Ease of access and choice is imperative to increasing physical activity levels across Manchester, and as such, we have created a new online platform that will become the home for all activity providers to advertise and promote their opportunities online. If you know a Provider delivering across Manchester, please let them know this platform exists! Or, if you are a Provider and would like to feature on the site and be a part of the journey, CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.