What to expect at Stepping Stones!

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It is important to remember that everyone develops and learns at their own pace. It is a big step joining a structured swimming lesson for some children. That is why we have prepared this helpful snapshot with what to expect at your first lesson and some of the key practises to try prior to signing up! 

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"All the Stepping Stones classes are teacher led. Parents are not permitted to accompany swimmers into the pool."​

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• Viewing: where possible we allow viewing in our venues however some venues do have restricted viewing access. When viewing is unavailable unfortunately there is no option to remain poolside for accompanying parents, we understand this may be worrying for some parents in the initial stages. Please feel free to get in touch and we can give you more information on venues that do allow viewing if you feel this would be to restrictive. 

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• The teacher will be delivering the lessons from within the water and all the swimmers will be using noodles and kickboards to gain their confidence within the water. 

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• To ensure that your swimmer is confident and happy to attend in the pool it would be worthwhile spending some time familiarising tehm with the pool noodle and allowing them some time to splash about the pool independently using this. 

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• During the lessons there will be a big emphasis on goggles in the early stages so making a big deal about the goggles!! This will help progress your swimmer through the programme more quickly. Once we can get swimmers confident with their eyes submerged we can really get to work on the strokes. 

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How Will I know My Swimmer Is Ready?

We recognise that all swimmers are individual and your swimmer may still be ready for lessons even if they don’t already do everything from the list below, you will know your swimmer best and that is why the decision is totally up to you. 

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• Can follow instructions.

• Happy blowing bubbles in the bath.

• Has had some experience of being in a pool environment.

• Allows water to pass over their head and face in the shower.

• Comfortable wearing goggles (Recommended, not essential) 

• Happy to be left without parent or guardian in a group setting.

• Can float independently with the use of a noodle (Either supported by parent or independently)

These are not requirements our excellent team of teachers will be happy to help and support your swimmer, however these benchmarks are a good indicator that your swimmer is ready to join a group swimming lesson. 

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Why We Do Not Use Armbands: 

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• Armbands restrict movement. 

• Armbands move children into a vertical swimming position. 

The focus for all new swimmers is water confidence (including submersion) and body position.  Once a child has the correct body positioning then we can teach them to swim. Spending weeks using armbands or noodles is counterproductive and is slowing progress through the Stepping Stones programme. 

Armbands are an aid to build water confidence and act as additional safety feature when swimming recreationally. Armbands restrict movement and are counter productive when developing swimming technique.

Stepping Stones develops water confidence and basic water skills quickly at each of the stages throughout the programme. 

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The Importance Of Goggles 

Stepping Stones has been designed to be a fast track learn to swim programme. We want to get you swimmer safe in the water as soon as possible. 

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During all our lessons but especially in the early stages there is a huge emphasis on the use of goggles. Even though your swimmer may not be a fan of goggles or hasn’t worn them in the past we suggest bringing goggles to every lesson. This will help our teaching team to encourage your swimmer to wear goggles each session, it might be for a brief moment, it might be that magic break through but we can only do this if your swimmer brings their goggles to the lessons. 

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No swimmer will be forced to wear goggles but trust us, once your swimmer is confident using goggles you will instantly see the benefits from, water confidence, body positioning and general stroke improvements. 

Trust us, we want the best for your swimmer and we can create the perfect environment for them to gain that confidence and to ultimately become safe in the water. 

 

We look forward to welcoming you into our programme, 

Stepping Stones Swimming

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