Getting started with children’s swimming lessons

How do swim lessons work and why are they essential?

As a parent, there’s so many lessons we pass on to our children, but when the time comes to get started with swimming lessons, it can often feel a little scary, which is why it’s so important to introduce them in the safest way possible - through swimming lessons with accredited and fully trained teachers.

Swimming lessons offer peace of mind for parents, but also ensure your child receives expert guidance in how to stay safe in the water, mastering the fundamentals of swimming, but also nurturing their confidence and love of water.

In this blog, we explore the ideal age for children to start swimming, the benefits swimming brings, essential water safety practices, and the various lesson options tailored for different age groups.

Jump to:

● What age can a child learn to swim?

● Why should your child learn to swim?

● Teaching children water safety

● Water safety tips

● How many swimming lessons does a child need?

● Swimming lessons for babies

● Swimming lessons for toddlers

● Swimming lessons for 4+ year olds

● What age can a child go swimming on their own?

● Children’s swimming lessons near me

What age can a child learn to swim?

From 4 months or older

It may surprise you, but children aged as early as 4 months-old can begin learning how to swim.

Babies have a natural affinity to the water, stemming from being in the womb. Their reflexes, like their dive reflex (which automatically closes their airway when submerged), are still strong - helping them adapt to the water much quicker. Early exposure to swimming helps babies develop essential motor skills and coordination.

By gently introducing them to swimming from an early age, they will become more confident in the water and also learn the essential skills required to keep them safe.

Why should your child learn to swim?

In our opinion, swimming is an essential life skill that every child should learn from an early age and one that they will be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

There are so many benefits that come with teaching your child how to swim, including:

● Keeping their heart and lungs healthy

● Increases strength, flexibility and stamina

● Improves balance and posture

● Builds confidence in the water

● Teaches them water safety

Teaching children water safety

When you're starting your child's swimming journey, prioritising water safety is absolutely essential.

By teaching water safety, you give them the tools to tackle any future challenges they may face while swimming.

Water safety tips

There are five water safety tips that all parents need to be aware of when their children are learning to swim. These are five survival skills that will help them become more confident and stay safe in the water:

Learning to get back to the side
Floating on their back
Keeping their head above water
Treading water
Turning in the water

These are priority exercises that are taught in swimming lessons but it’s also important for parents to be aware of these so they continue to be practised outside of swimming lessons too.

That’s why we offer free swimming for all children who do swimming lessons with us*.

How many swimming lessons does a child need?

This can vary depending on a few factors, including their age, comfort level in the water, previous experience, and individual learning pace. We usually recommend children to have consistent and ongoing lessons to build and maintain their swimming skills.

At Places Leisure, we offer baby and toddler swimming lessons and then from age 4+ we follow the structure of our swimming lessons based on the Swim England guidelines which consists of 7 stages.

By Stage 7, your child will have developed all the essential skills to be safe and confident in the water.

In the next section, we dive into exactly how some of these stages work.

Swimming lessons for babies

You can introduce your baby to the water from as early as four months old, this will help their physical development and confidence in the water.

We offer Adult and Baby swimming lessons for infants aged 4 - 18 months. They’re a wonderful opportunity for parents to join their babies in building water confidence. These lessons aren’t just about teaching your baby to swim but they also help you share an amazing bonding experience with your baby, which is why so many parents love attending these classes weekly with their little one.

Swimming lessons for toddlers

Once your baby reaches 18 months, they can move into our Adult and Child swimming lessons tailored for ages 18 months to 3 years.

In these lessons, you'll still be with your littles ones to help them take part in fun games that are aimed to improve their fundamental swimming abilities.

These lessons lay a solid foundation and prepare them for independent swimming lessons once they reach the age of 4!

Swimming lessons for 4+ year olds

From age 4, your child will be able to take their first steps into Pre-school ducklings which is aimed for children who can follow instructions and feel more comfortable being able to move indendently. During these classes they will learn how to:

1) Float

2) Rollover

3) Blow bubbles

4) Swim enter and exit the pool safely

Once your little one begins Primary School, they will move into independent Children’s Swimming Lessons!

This is where the Swim England structure will come more into play and your child will be taught all of the key steps they need to know to become a competent and confident swimmer.

Here is how each of the stages are structured:

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 1

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 1 Award, your child will be able to:

Enter the water safely.
Move forward for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor.
Move backwards for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor.
Move sideways for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor.
Scoop the water and wash the face.
Be comfortable with water showered from overhead.
Move from a flat floating position on the back and return to standing.
Move from a flat floating position on the front and return to standing.
Push and glide in a flat position on the front from a wall.
Push and glide in a flat position on the back from a wall.
Give examples of two pool rules.
Exit the water safely.

If you have already participated in baby and toddler swimming lessons, your child may advance more rapidly through Learn to Swim Stages 1 and 2 based on the existing skills they have learnt from these lessons.

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 2

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 2 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Jump in from the poolside safely.
Blow bubbles a minimum of three times rhythmically, with nose and mouth submerged.
Move from a flat floating position on the back and return to standing without support.
Move from a flat floating position on the front and return to standing without support.
Push from a wall and glide on the back – arms can be by the side or above the head.
Push from a wall and glide on the front with arms extended.
Travel using a recognised leg action with feet off the pool floor on the back for 5 metres, without the use of floatation equipment.
Travel using a recognised leg action with feet off the pool floor on the front for 5 metres, without the use of floatation equipment.
Perform a tuck to rotate from a flat floating position on the front, to a back floating position, then return to standing.
Perform a tuck to rotate from a flat floating position on the back, to a front floating position, then return to standing.
Perform a log roll from the back to the front.
Perform a log roll from the front to the back.
Exit the water without support.

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 3

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 3 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Jump in from the poolside and submerge.
Sink, push away from the wall and maintain a streamlined position.
Push and glide on the front with arms extended and log roll onto the back.
Push and glide on the back with arms extended and log roll onto the front.
Travel 5 metres on the front, perform a tuck to rotate onto the back and return on the back.
Fully submerge to pick up an object.
Correctly identify three of the four key water safety messages.*
Push and glide and travel 10 metres on the back.
Push and glide and travel 10 metres on the front.
Perform a tuck float and hold for three seconds.
Exit the water without using steps.

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 4

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 4 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Perform a sequence of changing shapes (minimum of three) whilst floating on the surface and demonstrate an understanding of floating.
Push and glide from the wall towards the pool floor.
Kick 10 metres backstroke (one item of equipment optional).
Kick 10 metres front crawl (one item of equipment optional).
Kick 10 metres butterfly on the front or on the back.
Kick 10 metres breaststroke on the front (one item of equipment optional).
Perform a headfirst sculling action (like drawing a figure eight with your hands, in a back-and-forth motion) for 5 metres in a flat position on the back.
Travel on their back and log roll in one continuous movement onto front.
Travel on front and log roll in one continuous movement onto their back.
Push and glide and swim 10 metres, choice of stroke is optional

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 5

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 5 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Perform a flat stationary scull on the back.
Perform a feet first sculling action for 5 metres in a flat position on the back.
Perform a sculling sequence with a partner for 30-45 seconds to include a rotation.
Tread water for 30 seconds.
Perform three different shaped jumps into deep water.
Push and glide and swim 10 metres backstroke (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 10 metres front crawl (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 10 metres breaststroke (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 10 metres butterfly (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Perform a handstand and hold for a minimum of three seconds.
Perform a forward somersault.
Demonstrate an action for getting help.

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 6

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 6 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Give two examples of how to prepare for exercise and understand why it is important.
Sink, push off on side from the wall, glide, kick and rotate into backstroke.
Sink, push off on side from the wall, glide, kick and rotate into front crawl.
Swim 10 metres wearing clothes.
Push and glide and swim front crawl to include at least six rhythmical breaths.
Push and glide and swim breaststroke to include at least six rhythmical breaths.
Push and glide and swim butterfly to include at least three rhythmical breaths.
Push and glide and swim backstroke to include at least six regular breaths.
Push and glide and swim 25 metres, choice of stroke is optional (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Perform a ‘shout and signal’ rescue.
Perform a surface dive.

Children’s swimming lessons: Stage 7

By completing the Learn to Swim Stage 7 Award, swimmers will be able to:

Push and glide and swim 25 metres backstroke (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 25 metres front crawl (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 25 metres breaststroke (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 25 metres butterfly (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Perform a movement sequence (linking skills with strokes and sculls) of one minute duration, in a group of three or more, incorporating a number of the following skills:
Sculling: head first, feet first
Rotation: forward or backward somersault, log roll
Floating: star on the front or on the back, tuck float, create own
Eggbeater (a way of treading water): Moving, lifting one or both arms out of the water
Perform a sitting dive or dive.
Push and glide and swim 50 metres continuously using one stroke (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Push and glide and swim 100 metres, using a minimum of three different strokes (performed to Swim England expected standards).
Tread water using eggbeater action for 30 seconds.
Complete an obstacle course (using minimum of four objects) with feet off the pool floor throughout.

What age can a child go swimming on their own?

Children under the age of eight should always have adult supervision while swimming, regardless of how confident they might be in the water.

Even if your child is over eight but they lack confidence in swimming - they could be a risk to not just themselves but to others. So it’s essential that they’re either accompanied or closely supervised by an adult.

All of our swimming pools are staffed with lifeguards but, as parents/guardians, you are still responsible for your child's safety in the water.

Children’s swimming lessons near me

Our leisure facilities span across over 60 locations in the UK and we offer swimming lessons for all ages at all of these locations.

By booking swimming lessons through Places Leisure, you’ll easily be able to track your child’s progress through our Course Hub which allows you to view how your child is getting on in their lessons and when they are ready to move to the next stage.

As the lessons go on, the swimming teacher will keep an eye on how your child is progressing with the goals for each stage. When they begin meeting all of their goals regularly, they get a badge and certificate and can move up to a new class!

Take a look at the range of children’s swimming lessons available with us at your local leisure centre!