Be Well Free Swimming Programme, Tower Hamlets
Evaluation in progress, expected completion September 2026
At a glance
The Targeted Free‑Swimming Programme in Tower Hamlets provides free swimming sessions, lessons and coaching for women and girls aged 16+ and men aged 55+. The aim is to help people be more active and improve their health, especially in communities that face more challenges. The programme runs across four leisure centres as part of the Be Well service, and is designed to remove common barriers to exercise such as cost, cultural expectations and confidence. This PHIRST Light evaluation will look at who is taking part, what benefits they experience and how the programme could be improved. Findings will shape future service decisions and support efforts to reduce health and activity inequalities in the borough.
What does the evaluation mean for Local Government?
For the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, this evaluation provides vital evidence to guide the future of the Free‑Swimming Programme. It will help the local authority understand whether the scheme is reaching priority groups, reducing inequalities, and improving residents’ health and wellbeing. Insights into barriers, cultural relevance, and service user experience will support more effective, inclusive delivery across leisure centres. The findings will strengthen decision‑making, justify investment, and ensure the programme is both equitable and sustainable. Ultimately, the evaluation helps the council refine services, maximise public value, and better support communities facing the greatest barriers to physical activity.
How are the public involved in the evaluation?
Public involvement is built into every stage of the evaluation, making sure that local residents and people who use the service help guide the project from beginning to end. Two dedicated Public Advisory Group (PAG) members work closely with the research team, and help lead activities such as designing participant information, refining interview guides and shaping how people are invited to take part.
We do have a project‑specific public involvement group, made up of local people who have used the free‑swimming programme. They contribute through workshops, document reviews and giving feedback throughout the project. Their experiences and ideas help ensure the evaluation reflects real community needs and remains inclusive, relevant and meaningful. Our local group refined the text in this webpage.
Evaluation details
The evaluation looks at the Targeted Free‑Swimming Programme in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This programme aims to help people who face the biggest barriers to being active—specifically women and girls aged 16 and over, and men aged 55 and over—to become more physically active through swimming.
The programme provides free swimming sessions, lessons, coaching clinics and, in later phases, creche support, delivered across four local leisure centres. The main goal is to make access to physical activity fairer by removing barriers such as cost, cultural expectations and practical challenges. This is especially important in Tower Hamlets, which is one of England’s most diverse and disadvantaged areas.
The programme is being evaluated by the PHIRST Light team to understand how well it is reaching the people it is designed for, how it is being delivered in real‑life leisure centre settings and what difference it may be making to behaviour, wellbeing and confidence. After the first year of running the scheme, the local authority requested this independent evaluation to gather evidence that can help improve the service, guide future investment and support its long‑term success. The evaluation is therefore timely and important, as it will show what is working well, what may need changing and how the programme can best support residents who are less active.
The evaluation seeks to answer a series of key questions aligned to the RE‑AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Acceptability, Implementation and Maintenance). Key questions include:
- Who is the programme reaching, and are priority groups taking part and continuing to attend?
- What helps or prevents different groups from getting involved?
- How do participants feel about the service in terms of value, cultural relevance and accessibility?
- What impact does the programme have on swimming confidence, health, wellbeing and social connection?
- Which parts of the programme—such as free entry, lessons, coaching or creche support—make the biggest difference to participation and long‑term behaviour change?
The evaluation uses a mixed‑methods approach, combining numbers‑based (quantitative) data and experience‑based (qualitative) data. The quantitative data comes from the local authority’s records of usage, which show who is attending, how often, for how long and which centres they visit. This helps identify patterns, differences between groups and early signs of behaviour change. The qualitative data will come from interviews with both users and non‑users, interviews with staff, and focus groups with eligible residents who have chosen not to take part. These conversations will provide deeper insight into lived experiences, cultural considerations and the wider factors that affect engagement.
When the project is finished, the evaluation will give clear conclusions about who the programme is reaching, how valuable people find it and where there is potential to strengthen or sustain the service. This evidence will help the local authority make informed decisions about the future of the Targeted Free Swimming Programme and wider plans to increase physical activity across Tower Hamlets.
Local Government / Partner(s)
Tower Hamlets Local Authority
Be Well Leisure Services
PHIRST Light Research Team
For any queries about this evaluation, please contact Dr Kristen Clements, K.M.Clements@lboro.ac.uk
Loughborough University: Prof Lauren Sherar, Dr Kristen Clements, Dr Akusile Makawa, Dr Yvanna Todorova
University of Nottingham: Perfect Asamoah
Public advisory group members: Cecily Henry, Marcia Hudson
*All PHIRST Light team members contribute to every evaluation.