We introduce various pieces of swimming equipment in the Duckling programme, one of the most popular is ‘chasing the ball’. You will also perfect the ability to take your babies under the water and release them so that you can watch them doing their first free swim. 

Reaching out for a ball becomes much easier and is a valuable skill to achieve. The concept of turning to and from the side as well as life-saving skills are introduced. Another life-saving exercise we also introduce is learning 'how to roll over'.  This is an exercise which parents are encouraged to practise on their own as well as with the aid of your Teacher.

 Other life-saving skills that we introduce at this level are ‘being dropped in’. This is a carefully controlled exercise – but is essential as part of our life-saving programme as babies are becoming mobile much younger and we want them to be prepared should they accidentally fall in.

We also start to teach parents how to do an extended swim, which can be a challenge when it comes to multi-tasking. This term is generally 2 terms in length to ensure that skills introduced in the first term of Cygnet are mastered before moving onto the Dolphin level.              

Turning from the poolside when asked (introduced in Cygnet) is mastered and progressed on to a more independent level. In this level we also bring in dive sticks/rings/ and the ever popular ‘zoggies’ giving the babies their first opportunity of picking up an item held under the water. This is great fun and done best when sat with your baby on the steps. You can also practise in the bath!

Swimming through the ‘tunnel’ is introduced, alongside the first stages of the ‘Rocket’ exercise, which will encourage your Toddler to start learning to 'Push'. Your baby/toddler is now encouraged to start coming in off the side on their own  in an independent ‘Ready Splash’ – this is a carefully controlled exercise and is done in a safe environment. Further independence is encouraged from our ‘Aquatots’ in the use of the woggle/noodle where we start to allow Toddlers to find their balance. Tiger arms are also introduced to encourage a ‘paddling action’ when chasing the ball.

Around the Dolphin level babies can go through various developmental stages, such as ‘separation anxiety’, learning to walk and the ever present problem of teething! These can be exceptionally challenging times for parents – no matter how committed - and they can sometimes see their previously happy and confident Aquatot morph in a very unhappy individual. This is a perfectly normal stage of development and all of our teachers have been trained to advise and help you as well as offering fact sheets to help you through this difficult time and move you both into the next phase of swimming which will see you and your child enjoying it once again

Level 4 : Seahorse independence is the key to progressing through the Seahorse Level. Woggles/Noodles continue to be used in our lessons but at this level we would be encouraging children to start to master these on their own, in an open position, gaining their balance. This can take some time and practise in your own time will make a huge difference.

Children’s confidence at this level should be growing especially when doing ‘Ready Splash’ from the side or off a large mat; we would be aiming for the children to be able to do this unassisted.

Big Floats which we introduced in Dolphin now start to play a bigger part, and we are encouraging the toddlers to gain their balance, with help from Mum/Dad.

We continue the ‘turning’ theme in this level but now are looking for children to be able to turn under the water themselves.

We continue work with dive sticks/zoggies increasing the difficulty only when the child is ready. 

Independent 'crab-walking' in now completely mastered and the children look forward to 'chasing' their parent around the poolside.

We also introduce ‘Tigger bouncing’ and encourage the children to start to ‘bounce on the trampoline’ – with Mum or Dad of course.

We are now aiming for slightly longer swims both to and from the Teacher/Parent to build up confidence. More life-saving skills are introduced to help the children learn to ‘save themselves’ and become more independent.
We also introduce some more fun songs for you both to enjoy, and take part in, all with the aim of increasing your toddler's confidence in the water.  Skills such as rolling/rotation from front to back and 'unassisted turns' are brought in through our songs.
This is a big level and there are a number of key skills your Aquatot needs to master before moving onto the Otter level.

Welcome to the Otter Level.

At this level the ability for the child to demonstrate how to ‘Push’ off the side and off the bottom of the pool is key and our exercises within this level help achieve this. 

Turning back to the poolside after jumping in is an important safety skill and one that is introduced at this level.
Encouraging bubble blowing both with Parent and on their own is a very important skill to learn.  

The life-saving skills of children rolling over without assistance are also skills we work on.

Children in this level should be very water confident and by now our open woggles are turned into'Seahorses' or 'Motorbikes' again with the aim of the children getting their balance and using the woggles in a different position. 

Diving is introduced properly and is thoroughly enjoyed particularly when they swim 'through the tunnel' afterwards.

Our  Aquatots are encouraged  to become happier lying on their backs and more relaxed in the ‘head hold’ position. We help them along the way through songs such as; Sleeping bunnies, and Dingle dangle scarecrow. 

We also help our Aquatots with the ‘Push 'n' glide exercise on their fronts, so they are now pushing from the wall in both positions.

This is a level where it all starts to come together for our little Aquatots. ENJOY 

In this level we really focus on balance with the use of the kickboards. A kickboard is definitely worth purchasing to enable you to practice in your own time. The children use these on their fronts and on their backs with the aim to kick at least 5 metres unaided. We also use them to assist the children floating on their backs for at least 5 seconds.

By now the children can blow bubbles, but we progress them on in this level by asking them to put their whole face in the water and to blow for 3 seconds. Lateral rotation is continued in this level but with the added difficulty of getting the children to regain a standing position after rotating from their back to their front. A safe water entry is also introduced and mastered in this level. Increasing the length of independent swims are promoted and encouraging the children to lift their heads up and take a breath is the next stage in their swim development.

Once the children reach Shark level, our focus is on helping them to achieve a 5 metre swim independently either on their fronts or backs. We are also making sure following on from the Seal level that their entries and exits have been mastered safely. Flotation and rotation in various forms are introduced.

The focus on being able to ‘Push’ from the side is re-enforced and the ‘Push 'n' glide’ exercise is mastered. The added difficulty of not using the legs when doing this is an extra challenge. Independent floating on the front and back are challenging exercises which are completed and the children start to dive deeper to collect dive rings. They also learn how to ‘change direction’ whilst swimming. Fins – for strength and fun come in to use to strengthen your child’s legs and really get them moving. ‘Tiger arms’ become stronger and more independent in this level before moving up to Swim School.