Frequently Asked Questions
What age can my baby start swimming?
Babies can start swimming lessons younger than you might think. The current NHS advice is that babies do not need to wait to complete their immunisations before swimming, but please speak to your health visitor or GP if in doubt.
Although babies can start swimming from just a few weeks old, mothers are not able to swim for 6 weeks after giving birth, so we therefore suggest that 8 weeks old is a good age to begin lessons, to maximise the benefit achieved by both baby and parent.
If babies are going to use submersion technqiues successfully then they need to begin these classes before they are 18 months old.
Do you offer Baby Submersion?
The aim of our Starfish classes is to introduce young children to the pool environment, to increase water confidence in both the babies and their parents and to introduce the basic water skills such as floating, jumping in and submerging.
Although we do not rely purely upon teaching baby submersion techniques, we do encourage some submersion as part of the development of water confidence.
What nappies do we need?
We use a "double bagging" system for nappies at all our pools. This means that you must use an under layer (such as a disposable swim nappy) and a cover layer (such as a re-usable swim nappy or nappy cover). Both of these items are available from larger supermarkets, mothercare or our own shop.
Do we need a baby wetsuit?
Wetsuits are not needed at Chaddesley Corbett due to the higher water temperature. At the Hilton LivingWell some of our smaller children prefer to wear a wetsuit to maximise comfort.
What are we working towards?
Starfish
- Encourage baby to enter the water freely from a sitting position on the poolside.
- Encourage baby to move freely through the water, either with minimal support or with the use of a buoyancy aid.
- Cue baby to submerge vertically and rotate 360 degrees in the pool.
- Support baby by the hands and encourage movement in a figure of eight or snaking pattern through the water.
- Take baby for a front or back ride through the water, with or without support.
- Cue baby to submerge in a Duckling Dive towards the poolside and encourage baby to hold onto the poolside and climb out (if baby has the physical ability).
Ducklings
- Jump unaided, but supervised, into the water
- Submerge completely
- Rotate through 360° in the water
- Show a mushroom or a star float
- Travel without help 10 metres on the front or back
- Climb out of the water with assistance if required
Puffins
- Moving forwards, backwards and sideways around the pool with floats
- Entering and exiting the water safely
- Scooping the water and washing the face
- Being at ease with water showered from overhead onto the head and face
- Moving into a stretched floating position using floats or support
Learn to Swim
- Swimming 5 metres on front and back, without floats or assisstance
- Standing on poolside, perform correct arm actions for Front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke
- Hold a float and swim 3 metres leg kick for front crawl, back crawl and breastsroke
- Pushing from wall and glide on the back and on the front
- Demonstrating an understanding of pool rules
- Perform a mushroom float unaided for 5 seconds
- Perform a star float unaided for 20 seconds
- Fully submerge beneath the surface
- Scull headfirst for 3 metres
- Identify objects underwater without the use of goggles
Learn Strokes
- Swim 25 metres front crawlSwim 25 metres back crawl
- Swim 10 metres of life saving back stroke leg kick
- Swim 5 metres breaststroke
- Swim 5 metres butterfly
- Understand basic water safety and survival rules
- Perform a handstand on the bottom of the pool
- Perform a forward somersault in the pool
- Scull head first and feet first for 5 metres
- Perform shallow water diving practices
Rookies
- Swim 50 metres front crawl including correct touch turns and finish
- Swim 50 metres back crawl including correct touch turns and finish
- Swim 25 metres breaststroke including a correct finish
- Swim 5 metres butterfly (if 7 years or over)
- Understand basic rescue principles
- Perform basic survival skills (whilst wearing a T-Shirt)
When can my child move up a class?
Groups are divided by their competance. There are regular opportunities to move between groups as swimmers improve and develop their strokes and skills. All badges achieved are accompanied by a certificate and are included within the lesson fees.
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