Why a fun approach to learning is so important
Swimming teachers sometimes hear, "Why play games instead of learning?" It's crucial to clarify: fun learning is vital in swimming for both kids and adults. Our Learn to Swim Programme prioritises fun and games to build essential skills seamlessly.
For instance, in Stage 2, kids play 'dinner on a plate,' balancing a float while moving. This fun activity teaches buoyancy, balance, and coordination, crucial for building swimming confidence.
Visit our YouTube channel to discover and watch all our Learn to Swim games.
By adopting a fun approach to learning, we not only make swimming lessons enjoyable but also ensure that swimmers acquire the core skills needed to become competent and confident in the water.
9 core skills of swimming
The core skills of swimming are the basic skills your child needs to keep afloat in water and to get ready to start swimming
- Entry
- Exits
- Buoyancy and Balance
- Rotation and Orientation
- Streamlining
- Aquatic Breathing
- Travel and Coordination
- Water Safety
- Health and Wellbeing
Through the journey of acquiring these skills, water competence will develop. Through competence in water, the child will have more fun, will be more likely to be active, follow a healthy lifestyle and participate in sports throughout his or her lifetime.
This process ultimately results in a child being able to swim different strokes, such as front crawl, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, as well as learning skills that may become transferable to another water-based or land-based sport.
Celebrating milestones
The Swim England Awards celebrate swimming milestones for learners as they achieve a specific skill, distance or complete a Learn to Swim Stage Award.
This adds the stardust for the child – we all enjoy getting recognition for our achievements!