Active Start (3.5 - 6years)

Young Beginners to Stage 1

Ducklings (Swim England Foundation Framework)

Duckling Awards are the next step on from the Discovery Duckling Awards.

They are designed to help toddlers and preschoolers enjoy learning to swim.

With Duckling Awards your child can work towards four different colourful awards.

Duckling 1

We will begin to see children start to move by themselves in the water, and building water confidence and safety skills with an adults support. Exercises include making a safe and supervised entry with adult support. Floating on back, and kicking on back with adult support behind the head (without aids). Fun activities such as travelling 5m without adult assistance to collect toys/balls (floatation aids can be used), blowing bubbles at the water surface and wetting the head without submersion are all used to engage with the children in the water.

Duckling 2

Continues to build on a childs ability to follow instruction and move independantly in the water. Safe entry and exit from the pool are extremely important. Children are taught a sitting entry (adult support if required) & learn to rotate 180 degrees in the water (buoyance aids allowed). Building confidence to put their full face into the water, blow objects along the waters surface, move 5m along the pool edge and travel 3m using their legs/arms without assistance (Floatation aids can be used).

Duckling 3

Water confidence is a must for duckling 3 as children are taught to jump to an adult in the pool, kick 5m on their front holding a float, blow bubbles with their mouth underwater, perform floats on front and back without support, show a torpedo shape when pushed to a partner and travel 5m on their front to the side of the pool. Independance increases and adult assistance reduces

Duckling 4

The final stage before moving onto the ASA Learn to Swim Pathway. Children have built confidence and water safety skills through fun learning activities. Children should be able to jump unaided but supervised in the water and return to the side of the pool, submerge completely, rotate through 360 degrees either horizontally or vertically, show a mushroom or star float and travel 10m on their front or back (without assistance).

Swim England Learn to Swim Pathway (Stages 1-7)

Our Junior lessons follow Stages 1-7 of the Swim England Learn to Swim Pathway, these lessons are full of fun while provide basic aquatic skills, building water confidence and competence. Distance awards will also be achieved.

Our Junior classes are broken down into the following groups (please be aware group levels do overlap) ;

Stage 1

Builds water confidence and encourages swimmers to enter the water safely and take the adventurous step of moving forwards, backward and sideways Confidence exercises to include ‘singing in the rain’ floating on the front and the back and regain a standing position. The introduction of having aids removed to gain the feeling of buoyancy The pool rules are introduced and reinforced.

Stage 2

Shows a different way of entering the pool safely – jumping in, aquatic breathing is introduced. Streamlining like ‘Superman.’

Rotations in the water to regain a standing position lots of fun to bring in the FUNdamentals of swimming. Travelling in any direction in any way a swimmer chooses

* Please be aware groups do overlap to allow for age and ability and exact stages can vary

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