Lesson Level Guide
(Aged 3 & Above)

A child’s first learn to swim experience. For these lessons your child must be:

• New to swimming having had no prior lessons or very few experiences in the water
• Able to separate from parent to walk to poolside to join in the lesson
• Happy to wear swimming aids (armbands/discs)    

Your child will learn about water safety, moving in water unassisted, pushing and gliding, blowing bubbles, using pool aids, rolling from front to back, floating, submerging their face in the water and jumping into the pool safely.

A child’s first learn to swim experience. For these lessons your child must:

• Have had some lessons and experiences of being in the water
• Be able to swim approximately 1 metre without swimming aids

Your child will learn to tread water, swim unaided for longer distances (reducing swimming aids such as armbands/discs), begin to experience different swim strokes, use a woggle to support swimming, swim submerged in the water (retrieve objects/swim through a hoop) and learn a variety of different jumps into the pool.

The octopus series is for new swimmers aged 5+ and works on confidence, knowledge and skills. For these lessons your child must be: 

• New to swimming having had no prior lessons or very few experiences in the water
• Able to separate from parent to walk to poolside to join in the lesson 
• Happy to wear swimming aids (armbands/discs) 

Your child will learn different ways to enter the pool, how to move confidently in the water in a variety of ways, use different swim stroke actions to move in the pool, rotate from front to back, tread water, skull, float and swim for longer periods.

The Goldfish series expands on skills learnt in the Octopus and Stanley series. For these lessons your child must be able to: 

• Answer and maintain pool safety 
• Enter the water safely and in a variety of ways
• Not require swimming aids (armbands/discs)
• Swim on front and back up to 5 metres
• Float on front or back for 3 seconds

Your child will learn to jump in and swim back to poolside, swim to the bottom of the pool, roll from front to back whilst swimming, use more technique when swimming breaststroke, front crawl and backstroke, extend from one floating position to another and perform a handstand with both hands on the bottom of the pool. 

The Angelfish series expands on skills learnt in the Goldfish series. For these lessons your child must be able to: 

• Will be able to swim 15 metres unaided 
• Perform basic floats 
• Answer and maintain pool safety 
• Enter the water safely and in a variety of ways 
• Roll from front to back whilst swimming
• Extend from one floating position to another (eg mushroom to starfish) 
• Perform a handstand underwater
• Swim to the bottom of the pool
• Not require swimming aids (armbands/discs)

Your child will learn to be rescued by a swimming aid, perform a straddle entry, skull both head first and feet first, learn correct breathing for breaststroke, front crawl and backstroke, lifesaving backstroke, perform a 360 degree vertical turn, perform a somersault, head first and feet first surface dive and begin to explore butterfly stroke. 

The Shark series expands on skills learnt in the Angelfish series. For these lessons your child must be able to: 

• Swim 25 metres unaided 
• Perform a straddle entry into water 
• Tread water for 30 seconds
• Swim underwater for 5 metres  

Your child will learn basic water rescue, survival techniques, turns for each stroke, head first dive, kneeling dive, plunge dive and feet first surface dive into the water and will learn to swim up to 100 metres. 

This series develops swimming technique, stamina and speed. For this series your child must be able to:

• Be a confident swimmer 
• Have a lot of swimming experience     

Your child will learn to swim in a time criteria, perform tucked front and back somersaults.