Early-Years Swimming: Creating Opportunities for Adding Mathematical Capital to Under 5s

Drawing on survey data from over 2000 parents, this paper explores the possibility of early-years swimming to add mathematical capital to young children. Using developmental milestones as the basis, it was found that parents reported significantly earlier achievement on many of these milestones. Such data suggest that the early years swim environment may offer enhanced opportunities for learning skills that help transition young children into formal schooling. This paper explores those milestones that are related to early mathematics.