Stage 1

Perfect for complete beginners! This stage is designed to teach the basics, including becoming comfortable around the water, learning how to enter/exit the water safely and introducing balance and water movement techniques. Stage 1 of the Swim England Learn to Swim Programme is the beginning of your little ones' swimming journey. In this class, we teach children the fundamentals of swimming, and we introduce safe swimming and build water confidence.

Stage 2

Building confidence! This stage is aimed at those needing extra armband time to build confidence and strength. This stage takes the time to develop a swimming technique that will allow your child to swim independently without flotation aids and little teacher support. During Stage 2, swimmers will develop safe entries to the water and continue to practice floating, travel and rotation in the water while developing water confidence and strength.

Stage 3

Swimming without armbands! During stage 3, children will be assisted by the swimming teacher when swimming on their front and back without armbands until children feel 100% confident. The learning objectives for stage 3 involve jumping in without assistance, submerging underwater and streamlining on the front and back. During Stage 3, swimmers work towards being able to swim 10m on their front and back and will be able to swim underwater to collect objects from the bottom of the pool. Rotation skills and water safety knowledge will also be developed.

Stage 4

Learning different strokes! This stage introduces the learning of all 4 strokes (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Front Crawl), starting with the leg kick. In Stage 4, swimmers will focus on refining kicking techniques for all four strokes and develop a better understanding of buoyancy whilst enjoying an introduction to diving. Skulling, log rolls, push and glides alongside flotation skills will also become established in these classes.