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The 4 Levels of Baby Swimming Lessons

The journey to becoming a strong swimmer takes time and patience. Each child will achieve their goals in their own time, and they shouldn’t be rushed or forced into to activities they’re not ready for. The Swimbabes course is designed to let each child develop at a pace they’re comfortable with, whilst always challenging them. The key to development at this early stage is repetition of success, reinforcing verbal instructions and ensuring longer term awareness of water safety and confidence.

Level 1
Preliminary 1

Your first lesson will be used to get you and your baby used to the pool, being in the water and spending some precious bonding time with your child. Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to do anything too advanced like submersions in the first lesson, it’s all about getting your child comfortable in the water.

A teacher will be with you at all times to make sure you’re doing okay. Each lesson will start with a ‘warm up’, and concentrate on the swim holds introduced from week 1, ending with a song as a group.

Level 1
Preliminary 2

After completing a single term of Preliminary 1, babies will automatically join preliminary 2.

Preliminary 2 classes build on the confidence, holds, submersions and techniques taught in Preliminary 1, building up to a total of 6 submersions per lesson.

Key skills of Preliminary 2 include:

  • Perform short swims underwater without support
  • Swim on front with support
  • Enter & exit pool safely with support
  • Float & kick across the pool on back with support
  • Hold on to the bar
  • Swim across the pool using swim & breathe technique
  • Jump in to the pool from a sitting position
  • Swim using a woggle or a float
  • Balance across the pool

Buy Level 1 Certificate

Level 2
Intermediate

The intermediate level is for those little swimmers who have progressed from Preliminary Level 2, and aims to further develop the skills they’ve started to learn, and continue to build up confidence in the water. Several key skills are introduced during this period, including:

  • Hold on & move along the bar independently
  • Jump in to the pool independently and safely
  • Swim underwater & exit to hold on to bar/side  independently
  • Swim a width with support using the swim & breathe technique
  • Perform underwater turns to mummy or daddy on my own
  • Climb in & out safely with help if required
  • Perform long swims of up to 5 seconds & hold on at the side / self-propulsion
  • Use floats & woggles to support swimming
  • Back floating

Buy Level 2 Certificate

Level 3
Advanced

Our Advanced Level follows on from our Intermediate levels & concentrates more on building the ‘swim & breathe’ technique, some further lifesaving skills & extending the length of independent swims.

At the end of the Advanced Level, children will be able to:

  • Swim & breathe easily while paddling across the pool (5m) independently
  • Swim to the side, hold on, turn to mummy/daddy & swim off confidently
  • Surface from a belly flop / sitting dive independently
  • Safe entry & exit at the pool
  • Move 5m along the bar without help
  • Swim around the teacher & back to parent to hold on
  •  Perform a star float with minimal support

Buy Level 3 Certificate

level 4
Swim School

This is the final stage of the Swimbabes programme. Swim school is our independent swimming stage where children enter the pool and fulfil the sessions with no parental support. The key at this stage is confidence in swimming on their front and back, leading to stroke development for early backstroke, front crawl & breaststroke.

At the end of swim school, children will be able to:

  • Float on their back
  • Behave safely and confidently around the pool
  • Jump in, turn, swim and hold on
  • Kick across the pool with a float on their front and back
  • Perform ‘push and glide’ on their front and back
  • Swim 5m using breaststroke arms
  • Swim 5m using front paddle arms
  • Dive to collect a toy from the bottom of the pool
  • Swim 10m on their tummy
  • Swim 5m on their back

Buy Level 4 Certificate
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