Key announcements

Due to maintenance, some of our online forms and systems will be unavailable from 6:00am on Saturday 30 March to 7:00am on Monday 1 April. We are sorry for any inconvenience. To find out more about the section 114 notice, visit our section 114 page

Course details

Adult and child

Sessions for babies and young children from birth to 3 years who are new to swimming.

Sessions are delivered with adults and children in the water together.

Ducklings

Sessions for children aged 3 years and over. Reception school age who are able to follow simple instructions and move independently.

Sessions will increase water confidence and familiarise your child with essential skills before they progress into Stage 1. Swimmers may use aids, such as armbands or discs.

Stage 1

Suitable for children who are of reception school age and over.

Sessions focus on developing basic safety awareness, the ‘class’ scenario, basic movement skills and water confidence. Swimmers may use aids, such as armbands or discs.

Stage 2

Sessions focus on developing safe entries to the water. This includes jumping in, basic floating, travel and rotation unaided to regain upright positions. Travel on front and back for 5 metres aided equipment

Swimmers can enter the stage using aids, such as armbands or discs. but must leave this stage without aids.

Stage 3

Sessions focus on developing safe entries to the water, including submersion, travel up to 10 metres on front and back without aided equipment, progress rotation skills and water safety knowledge.

No aids (such as armbands or discs) to be used in this stage.

Stage 4

Sessions focus on developing the understanding of buoyancy through a range of skills, refining kicking technique for all strokes and swimming 5 metres front crawl and back crawl to a given standard, as directed by Swim England.

Stage 5

Sessions focus on developing ‘watermanship’ through sculling and treading water skills, and complete rotation.

Stage 6

Sessions focus on developing effective swimming skills including coordinated breathing; developing the water safety aspects and understanding of preparation for exercise.

Stage 7

Sessions focus on developing a quality stroke technique up to 100 metres, incorporating skills learnt and combining them to develop a linked routine and complete successfully an obstacle course that combines a variety of skills accomplished throughout stages 1 to 7.

Competitive stages 8, 9 and 10

Advanced swimmers greater distances of 400m+, learning swimming development skills such as turns, starts, relay takeovers. Development stage progression to swimming club (one hour lesson).

Youth session, aged 8 years and over

Covers stages 1, 2, and 3 for older children

This session is not available at all centres – Please ask at reception for more details.

Multi aquatic stages 8, 9 and 10

Suitable for swimmers that have completed stage 7 and would like to try other aquatic disciplines. Sessions will include a mixture of synchronised swimming, water polo and diving.

This session is not available at all centres – Please ask at reception for more details.

Rookie

Suitable for swimmers that have completed stage 7. The Royal Lifesaving Society UK, the leading provider for Water Safety education, rescue techniques and resuscitation, has developed the Rookie Lifeguard programme. As well as offering parents the comfort of knowing their children are aware the dangers of swimming in open water, the Bronze, Silver and Gold stage awards ensure children have a solid safety education, and have learned rescue and resuscitation
techniques.


Page last updated: 2 May 2023

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