We run our swim lessons with the best interests of each child at heart. We believe group swim lessons should be safe and fun with gradual progression in the core aqua skills and stroke development. It takes time and patience, each child is different and progresses at their own pace. Group swim lessons are great for social development as children can learn and play together.

Basket system and operation of swim lessons

Following Covid, the demand for swim classes increased greatly. Many more children needed access to swim lessons and one way we could accommodate more swimmers was reduce the class time length from 40 minutes (pre-covid) to 35 minutes. This meant we could fit in another class and take more swimmers off the wait list. The knock on effect unfortunately is that we have less time to clean the changing rooms between classes. In order to keep them safe and clean, our staff need time to get in and service them. As a result, we no longer allow access to showers and hair dryers. This is unfortunate but the alternative is to bring classes back to 40 minutes and place a number of our current swimmers back on the wait list, which we don’t want to do for obvious reasons. Parents are not allowed to wait indoors during the lesson, so that children can easily access their baskets and staff can move the baskets to changing rooms.

…we recommend

You pack a small bag for your child with towel, pyjamas, a robe and crocs or sliders. A robe is better than a “onesie”, as they are easier to get in and out of. Hair wrap towels and wooly hats for the cold weather.

What are your levels in the pool?

We have 6 levels in our group lessons. There is a greater demand for beginner lessons for young swimmers, so since this summer we have 2 groups of beginners (1A, 1B). Level 2 is near reception at the shallow end. Levels 3 and 4 are in the middle of the pool. Level 5 is the deep end for the most advanced swimmers. Level 5 swimmers can progress to lane swimming when they are strong at frontcrawl and backcrawl, and competent at breaststroke. We do not put a heavy emphasis on Butterfly, although we do include it in level 5 and lane swimming.

Why is my child in Level X and not in Level Y?

We assess the children on an ongoing basis. As soon as they are ready to progress to the next level, we will move them up. When a new set starts, we prepare as best we can but it can take a week or two to organise all the children in the best groups for their ability. Thanks for your patience with this. Please also keep in mind that we are assessing the children across a range of skills / strokes. Sometimes one stroke can be strong but another is not ready for the practices in the next level. Better to be patient than rush the child. Finally, our instructors are all capable of individualizing practices for each child within a group when necessary.

Teachers in the water…

Firstly, we would never have a child in an area of water that is unsafe for their ability. Since Covid we have adapted our skills to teach more from the pool side, and a little less from the water. We encourage children to develop their feel of the water and do it themselves. It can be very beneficial for the children when they learn this way. However, we keep a balanced approach and try to use an assistant in the water when it speeds up the learning process. We do our best to regularly have a teacher in the water at the levels that most need it: levels 1 and 4 (where the pool depth increases). Generally a swim teacher can better organise their group and see their swimmers technique from higher up on the pool side.