School-age children

Jellyfish

No assessment is required to enter this course. It’s designed for school age children. Building confidence to put their head under the water and teaching skills to float.

In this course your child will learn to:

• Demonstrate safe and confident exploration of the pool environment

• Safe entry and exit of the pool

• Submerge whilst holding their breath and blowing bubbles

• Assisted floats on their front and back.

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Regain feet easily from a front and back float

• Signal for help.

Stingray

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can demonstrate safe and confident exploration of the pool environment: confidently go underwater whilst holding their breath and blowing bubbles, can do assisted floats on their front and back.

In this course your child will learn:  

• Unassisted floats on their front and back and confidently regaining their feet

• Unassisted glides on their front in streamline position

• Unassisted glides on their back with arms by their side.

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Assisted roll from their front to their back, and back again

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a life jacket, do a step entry into deep water, HELP position and signal for help, return to the edge for a safe exit

• Duck dives and move underwater for a slow count of 5.

Kingfish

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can float on their front and back unassisted and confidently regain their feet and glide unassisted on both their front and back.

In this course your child will learn to:  

• Kick on their front in streamline position

• Kick on their back with arms by their side

• Unassisted roll from front to back.

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Eels

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can roll to breathe, do backstroke with continuous arms and basic caterpillar kick.

In this course your child will learn:

• Unassisted bubble bubble breathe

• Continuous backstroke with rotation.

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Snappers

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can do unassisted bubble breathe, basic caterpillar kick, continuous arms on back with rotation.

In this course your child will learn:

• Freestyle with bilateral breathing and ¾ arms

• Continuous backstroke with body rotation

• Streamlined caterpillar kick

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Dolphins

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can swim freestyle with bilateral breathing; backstroke with body rotation; streamlined butterfly kick. 

In this course your child will learn:

• 1 x 12.5 metres freestyle with bilateral breathing and ¾ arms

• 1 x 12.5 metres backstroke continuous arms with body rotation

• 1 x 12.5 metres breaststroke kick with good technique

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Move 15m nonstop using any form of propulsion

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Marlins

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can swim 1 x 12.5 metres freestyle with bilateral breathing and ¾ arms, 1 x 12.5 metres backstroke with rotation and 1 x 12.5 metres breaststroke kick with good technique.

In this course your child will learn:

• 2 x 12.5 metres smooth continuous freestyle

• 2 x 12.5 metres smooth continuous backstroke

• 2 x 12.5 metres breaststroke with correct timing

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Move 15m nonstop using any form of propulsion

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Bronze Sharks

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can swim 2 x 12.5 metres smooth freestyle; 2 x 12.5 metres backstroke with rotation; 2 x 12.5 metres breaststroke with correct timing.

In this course your child will learn:

• 50m of Freestyle

• 50m of Backstroke

• 50m of Breaststroke

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Move 50m and/or 3 minutes non-stop, confidently, and competently using any form of propulsion on their side, front, back, or all 3

• Tread water for 1 minute

• Scull head-first and/or scull feet first for at least 3 minutes

• Move through the water environments of all kinds (currents, waves, depth – in situ or simulated)

• Entries—slide entry, step entry, ladder entry, wade entry, compact jump entry, stride entry, fall-in entry.

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.

Silver Sharks

An assessment is required to enter this course. We will check that your child can swim 50 metres of their favourite stroke – either freestyle, backstroke, or breaststroke and 25 metres of the other 2 strokes.

In this course your child will learn:

• 100 metres of stroke 1 – students choice either freestyle, backstroke or breaststroke

• 50 metres of stroke 2 – students choice but different to the first one either freestyle, backstroke or breaststroke

• 50 metres of stroke 3 – students choice but different to the other two either freestyle, backstroke or breaststroke.

Practise the following water safety skills:

• Move 100m and/or 5 minutes non-stop, confidently, and competently using any form of propulsion on their side, front, back, or all 3

• Tread water for 2.5 minutes

• Scull head-first and/or scull feet first for at least 3 minutes

• Move through the water environments of all kinds (currents, waves, depth – in situ or simulated)

• Entries—slide entry, step entry, ladder entry, wade entry, compact jump entry, stride entry, fall-in entry.

• Do a reach and rescue throw with a buddy

• Control breathing whilst floating on back for 1 minute

• Float and signal for help with and without an aid

• Correctly fit a lifejacket, do a step entry into deep water, float in the H.E.L.P. position, then with a couple of buddies or a group form a huddle, return to edge, and get out

• Duck dives moving underwater for a slow count of 5.