To think level 1 swimming lessons shouldn’t be in the deep end?

[CroccyWoccy]

Because of technical problems in teaching pool at our local pool today’s swimming lessons took place in the main pool. It was all a bit chaotic as classes couldn’t be separated in the usual way, but I was amazed to find my two non-swimming children up in the deep-end on noodles. They were accompanied by a teacher obviously but my youngest isn’t very confident using a noodle and was thrashing about uselessly.

AIBU to think it’s not safe to have non-swimmers in the deep end?

At 7yrs old one of mine (who was a shortie) wasn't able to touch the bottom of a 1.2m pool, by the time they were able to they were already competently swimming front and back crawl.

No, I wouldn’t be happy about that. They’ve done it as a last resort, not because of some insight into how to get the kids swimming in deep water.

The depth shouldn't make that much difference to the child, however at this stage, I would expect the teacher to have no more than 6 children and most of them should be holding on to the side or sitting on the side while they take turns going one to one with the teacher.

No there were 2 teachers in the lane of the 25m pool, 2 classes sharing a lane. Normally in the training pool each class has a clearly segregated area but today they were in one lane. Mostly the more advanced class was in the deep end and the level 1 class was in the shallow end but they got mixed up and switched round.

That doesn’t sound great from a supervision perspective, especially with the pool also open to the public.

That’s unusually deep, was it used for diving (scuba or board!)

But you would be holding the baby so not the same as a small non swimmer child being out of their depth without 1-1 supervision.

My local pool won't let me take my 2 children on my own as they need and adult each so I'm astonished they do this for lessons.

Don't think so, it's a 60s school pool- old enough to be built to yards rather than meters. I leaned to swim in the same pool in the 90s and remember us all swimming to the bottom to pick up those weird rubber bricks!

Yours sounds chaotic - too many children and everyone getting jumbled up. However, I don’t see the problem with children in the deep end. We don’t have a shallow vs deep end. My DC can’t stand up in the water at all and that’s how they’re learning to swim.
DC1 has just learnt with me before moving on the lessons just by being in the adult pool with me and younger DC2, they have become very confident very fast.

I wouldn't be very happy about this. 12 learners to 1 teacher in deep water doesn't sound right.

Probably the diving pit although most newer ones have movable floors so no need for it to be that deep for non diving activities.

@Meatshake well, you learn something new everyday! I realise now that I’d never really given much thought to how deep a swimming pool should/ could be but for reasons completely unknown, the idea of having 12 foot of water below me really gives me the willies!

I'm a swimming instructor.
I teach all my lessons in a 1.2m pool.
I'm in the water with the children and non swimmers have aids (noodle or armbands) so it's safe.

Is there not a safety difference between 1.2m and 2m+, even if both of those might be out of depth for young children?

Eep, this whole thread makes me cringe.
Whenever I have been in water, I have a compulsion to touch the bottom with my feet. I guess it is a safety thing.
Am in my 40s and a non-swimmer.

I'm a swim teacher too and one pool I teach at, we wouldn't put non swimmers out of depth, unless absolutely necessary, and then the teacher has to be in the water and be no more than 6 kids to 1 teacher. There have to be lifeguards too.

Another place I teach at they have a step at the edge of the deep end (1.2m) that is put in especially for the beginners so they can stand when waiting for their turn. Teacher also is in water.

Not safe with teacher out of the water and non swimmers who could slip off their noodles for sure.

Every day is a school day! My initial reaction was the same as @grosgirl that didn't seem right or it had been used for diving.
But what depth is a average council pool? I couldn't find the answer. Then I googled depth of Olympic pools (most council pools are half the lenght) minimum of 2m preferably 3m. So even by Olympic standards that pool is really deep.

@CroccyWoccy regarding your question about depth. As I said above I am a lifeguard and I regularly rescue non swimmers in 75cm, where even little kids are not out of their depth. They get horizontal and forget how to put their feet in the bottom to stand up.

The swim school my children attended always had the absolute beginners class out of their depth. They said they learnt better that way. Ratio was 10 children to 1 teacher (on side) plus 1 assistant (in water). Worked fine and didn't feel unsafe.

My local pool's deep end is 3.6m, has a diving board so I guess that's why. But they have a separate very shallow pool for beginning swimming lessons (that's what DS swims in when he goes with nursery). Not sure at what stage the school swimming lessons go in the deep end, I would feel a bit uncomfortable having a non-swimmer that deep but DD learnt to swim out of depth because when we went swimming as a family we'd spend most of the time in the warm therapy pool which was 1.2m I think, too deep for her to reach the bottom, but she taught herself to swim there.

Natsku school swimming non swimmers do not go in deep water unless competent after the 2 week block.

Its probably not the same where I am, don't have long blocks of swimming lessons like in the UK, they only do swimming a few times a term so have to fit a lot of learning in those few lessons so maybe go in the deep end sooner or maybe not (if there even is many non-swimmers at school age, think there was only one in DD's class who couldn't swim at the beginning)