Swimming - FAQs

What age can my child start?
For Adult and Baby/Child classes children can start at any age. Government Health experts now believe that it is now no longer necessary to wait until your child has had all their vaccinations before going into the pool. However, we do advise 4-6 months and this can be due to the temperature of the pool. Please always consult your health visitor if you are unsure.

How long should it take my child to learn to swim?
There is no definite timeline, different children take different amounts of time and find some skills easier to learn than others. If you take your child swimming outwith lessons there is a high probability that they will progress more quickly. There won't always be leaps of progress every lesson or every week. It is normal for learning to plateau for periods, even regress at times and surge ahead at others.

What is likely to happen in lessons?
All children should be having fun. They should be involved in games-based activities to help them learn core swimming skills such as breathing, submerging and moving in the water. The swimming strokes should be introduced gradually once the child has acquired the basic core aquatic skills. Our LTS lessons last 40 minute and 30 minutes for pre school, children should be as active as possible throughout the lesson.

What are the core aquatic skills?
These are the building blocks for learning more complex practices and they are fundamental to your child becoming a competent swimmer. For example, blowing bubbles in the bath/pool is the first stage for aquatic breathing; floating helps a child establish good body position for strokes to be developed and is key to teaching children safety. It is imperative that the core aquatic skills are taught well to enable swimmers to advance to more recognised techniques such as swimming the four main strokes.

Why is my child playing games in a Swimming Lesson?
'Learning through play' is fundamental to the Scottish Swimming Framework so there'll be plenty of fun activities and games in the pool to keep swimming interesting for your child whilst teaching them a variety of skills. The activities are planned by the teacher and will ensure the children are challenged in different ways and are linked to the core aquatic skills which essential for learning more complex skills.

My child has a disability. Can they take part?
Of course. Lessons can be adapted as necessary to help all children achieve their potential. If your child has specific needs, please contact us on 01324 506850 for further information.

What can I do to help my child?
The earlier that a child becomes familiar with the aquatic environment and being in and around water the better. Even if you are not a strong swimmer just taking your child to the pool and playing and having fun in the water will help them develop their confidence and enjoy the positive experiences that the water can bring them.

In the home, encourage your child to have a bath and play in the water. Encourage them to get their hair wet and introduce them to putting their face in the water. Scottish Swimming have an Early Years bag with toys and activity cards to provide you with ideas for the bath and pool.

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