To expect DD to start swimming lessons at Stage 2

[Eurydice84]

DD started Waterbabies at 4 weeks and she started swimming without floats just after turning 3. For the last year I have been taking her to the pool myself and she is getting so much better: she swims underwater and can do a full width of the pool by herself. So I went to sign her up for proper lessons with Nuffield Health and it was a bumpy experience.

• First they told me she should do pre-schooler/Duckling lessons; we went to one and it was really too basic.
• The teacher suggested she joins Stage 1, however she will only allowed to do so after her 4th birthday (rules of the club);
• The Stage 1 kids are still using armbands. I checked the outcomes for Stage 1 and DD can already do everything. But the swimming pool manager won't allow her to start at Stage 2.

Are swimming clubs usually so difficult? I question paying over-inflated prices for DD to get bored waiting ages for her turn to do something she already knows. But maybe I am missing something here...

Take her somewhere else, other swimming schools will be less restrictive

You'll probably find that she'll do one maybe two sessions with stage one and move up to stage two... this will be dependent on how quick they track her progress. If you can afford it look at 1:1 lessons, they'll follow the swim scheme and the teacher will be able to place her in the correct class maybe after a 6 week course with them.

Try another provider.

Where we are, they need to have demonstrated a pass at level 1 to start level 2. Someone started at level 1 in my daughters class with her and got moved up to level 2 (in the next pod, all they did was ducked under the dividers) within 10 or so minutes.

I find it bizarre they use armbands - they are completely banned at my daughters lessons. They use floats when required.

My youngest could swim 5m without floats by 3.5 but couldn’t join Stage 1 till 4 (rules). She did 2 lessons at Stage 1 and then got moved to Stage 2. Starting in Stage 1 was really just to check she was emotionally ready (able to follow instructions, listen to the teacher without me in the water etc).

Sounds normal to me, just ask them to assess her to ensure she is in the right class or ask the instructor on her first stage 1 class to tick off as much as they can as quickly as possible and explain that she can already swim.
our local lessons only allow them to do stage one after they turn 5 so lots can already swim and the coaches are good at ticking them off in a couple of weeks so they can move quickly up to stage 2.

Re other provider: the waiting lists are horrific. Nuffield Health has shorter lists in comparison as you need to be a member to use the club. Also warmer pool water - we tried a nearby pool and it was freezing.

Not classic armbands, they are round floaty rings the kids have to keep on in between turns for safety reasons (they say one teacher can't possibly keep an eye on a big group of new swimmers)

I'd consider one to one lessons if I was you, they cost more but children really progress. I have 3 granddaughters and they came on really well with two teachers to the three of them, all at different stages too. We'll worth the extra money.

I think it’s fair to have minimum ages, or stage 1/2 would be full of 2 and 3 year olds with pushy parents and swimming lessons are about water safety too and school age is about right to learn this. Also I would imagine the teacher wants to assess each child themself rather than rely on a parents assessment so I say suck it up and allow your child to go through the stages ( probably quite quickly) or find another club.
swimming stage get more frustrating as you go up levels anyway. My daughter stormed through them and was finished by age 8 ( which was too young as she never really swam lengths again) and my son got stuck on bronze I think as he couldn’t perfect butterfly. Covid came and he just dropped out but is a perfectly good swimmer ( except for butterfly)

Yes we also started in stage 1 but got moved up very quickly.

Armbands though? Not a noodle? This seems unusual for swimming lessons.

Also agree a warm pool is a must when they're that young.

How deep is the water and what are the ratios? My daughter is 7 and the maximum ratio is 1:9, water is 0.6m.

Go for 1 on 1 lessons (tailored to her) or just keep teaching her yourself. I don’t think they get much out of swimming lessons at this age if they’re already so confident in the water.

They’re good for my son because the activities they do help him have fun and relax in the water. Your daughter doesn’t need this. Keep building her stamina yourself.

We’ve moved swimming providers a few times due to covid and most recent asked for an assement 10 mins in the pool when rejoining our initial lessons.

i would say couple of things:
choice of armbands in unusual

sometimes kids are 90% at the level and can swim a long distance but they keep them there till technique is at a certain point

my daughter is an excellent swimmer but when she was really little she was sometimes put off by the bigger kids. I kept her in preschool lessons till age 5.5 (start of school in Scotland) as I did not se the point in her freaking out at 4 swimming with rowdy 7 year olds.

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I also reckon a crash course for a week in the holidays a couple of times a year is best. You just take them swimming regularly in-between, more fun for them.

My DD moved to stage 1 when she was still 3 (3;9 after 9m in stage 1). My DS4 is currently in stage 1 but doesn't wear armbands. In his case I think his swimming is ready for stage 2 but he won't jump in by himself. At our pool they go straight to stage 2 if they are school age I think.

Have you spoken to the manager? Would they do an assessment? It's not that common to be swimming that well at 3, so they might be sceptical. If you can demonstrate she has achieved everything that might help. Starting her in stage 1 could go either way. They might move her straight up but they might spend ages assessing. I would hope for the former! My DD got a bit stuck at stage 2 for ages but then only spent 6 weeks at stage 3 as the teacher spotted she was ready.

It's standard practice around here across the 3 leisure centres we're between. DCs can start Stage 1 once they start reception, although they will let preschoolers who are capable to start after their 4th birthday (proven by having attended the ducklings courses, not on a parent's say so).
All DCs have to start at stage 1 to ensure a skill isn't missed, but if they are able they will progress through the first few levels pretty quickly.

My DCs had both done Ducklings and earned their 10m badge before their 4th birthday, but still had to start in stage 1. However, they flew through the levels and were in stage 4 in less than a year. For stage 1 & 2, it took a few weeks to cycle through all the competencies and get them ticked off (they tend to cover 2 or 3 a lesson), but it was a fairly quick process.

I’ve got a 4yo in ducklings who is very much over pre-school classes but I won’t be able to get her into the stages until the summer just before school. She is more than capable of joining a stage 2 class but will probably start in stage 1 because they need some time to get used to the different set-up for independent lessons. It is one thing swimming well with you and another thing entirely listening properly to a teacher and not pissing about. That is a particularly challenge for the 4yos who haven’t yet been to school (tbh it’s still a challenge for my 6yo…)

This

I'm a swimming teacher just because a child has done water babies doesn't make them an amazing swimmer. Often they tend to swim under the water as a suppose to on top of the surface where they need to get their aquatic breathing correct alongside their leg kick. I'm not sure why they are insisting on armbands in stage 1. I'd look at another provider but the body position and breathing is important for swimming. I have a 4 year old in my stage 4 that has been moved up by another teacher. I personally do not feel they have the body strength to be swimming lengths in the big pool. I do have 4 year olds in stages 1 and 2

It's about the maturity to follow the lesson and not to jump in whilst the teacher is focusing on another child. I think I'd not bother with water babies and wait until she is 4 or ask if there is option of private lessons.

We moved to a new area and my kids started swimming lessons in level 1. DS was 7, could already swim pretty well. I explained he could already swim, but they insisted everyone starts in level 1.

He looked hillarious the first week in the shallow end with all the mostly 4 year olds, including DD who was 4 and definitely in the right level. He was moved to level 2 after one week and level 3 the week after and level 4 a few weeks after that. I did think it slightly ridiculous, that they wouldn’t just move him during that first lesson, but it is what it is and they were happy to move him up quickly and it was probably better than him going straight in the deep end and struggling.

Just to add I think waterbabies can be generous with the interpretation of the competencies and the leisure centres much stricter. Eg my 6yo was in stage 3 for a while as they wanted to see her do a length of front crawl with solid technique - technically it’s just 10m on the front according to the competencies- in theory I think chapter 18 waterbabies if meant to be equivalent to stage 3 but I don’t think it is the same standard at all.