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Original poster

NON SWIMMER/BEGINNERS CLASS - TEACHER NOT IN POOL!!!

18 replies

merlin · 10/11/2006 17:34

Is is just me or is just plain stupid and dangerous?

DS1 (6)has been having lessons at my gym and his confidence has grown hugely and can now swim up and down the pool with his float on.

A company called SWIMSAFE have now taken over the lessons and apparently their policy is NO instructors in the pool. Fine for children that can swim, but beginners? What happens when they have to take the floats off? She will be on side of pool with a big hook apparently - great!!!!

Anyway, all the mums are complaining so hopefully they will take notice.

OP posts:

hana · 10/11/2006 17:37

think this is standard practice
dd ( 5) has beenn doing lessons since beginning of term, s he's a non swimmer as well, and instructor has never gotten in with them. It's a children's lagoon style pool , water comes up to her chest
there are 6 children in the class

hana · 10/11/2006 17:38

but agree that it's silly - you really need someone beside you teachign you strokes ( when you get to that level) and not demonstrating from meters away
so far they've just been doing basic skills and not proper swimming

Original poster

merlin · 10/11/2006 17:39

forgot to say it is a one depth pool, but they can't touch the bottom!

OP posts:

hana · 10/11/2006 17:41

roisin · 10/11/2006 17:41

At our pool the instructors go in with children in the pre-swimming/water confidence sessions (in the gently shelving lagoon-style pool), where in fact many of them learn to swim.

But once they progress up to the main training pool (0.9m so children are not over their heads iyswim), the instructor stays on the side. This is the 'Beginners' class.

If children start lessons at the age of 6 or older they go straight into this Beginners Class.

I don't have a problem with it.

In your pool will the children be out of their depth?

Twiglett · 10/11/2006 17:43

I wouldn't be impressed with that .. not until they're at improver level (ie can swim a width on their own)

roisin · 10/11/2006 17:43

Oh crossed posts - just seen your out of their depth comment

roisin · 10/11/2006 17:44

I agree with Twig: ours swim out of their depth in "Improvers" once they have passed Level 4 Awards, which involves lots of water confidence stuff, and includes swimming 10m on back and front; and most of them have actually done a length (25m) before they move up to Improvers.

Original poster

merlin · 10/11/2006 17:45

Glad it's not just me then - hopefully enough of us complaining will change their policy!

I don't really want to pull him out of the lessons because he's really getting confident now and it's taken a long time to get him to this stage!

OP posts:

iota · 10/11/2006 17:45

whne ds1 learnt to swim the instructor was in the pool - both in the pre-school class and the level 1 one - not sure about the rest. A lot of the exercises seemed to involve a child swimming to the instuctor and back whilst forming strokes,or jumping in etc.

Ds2 is currently being taught in the same way.

quite often the instructor is supporting the child or moving in front of them and helping with arm or leg position.

I can't see how they can teach beginners as effectively from the side and not be 'hands on'

GeorginaA · 10/11/2006 17:47

I would be really unhappy with that. Not least from a "do as I say, not as I do" point of view - what sort of example is it giving the kids?! Swimming is fun, boys and girls, so fun I can't even be arsed to get in with you to demonstrate...

iota · 10/11/2006 17:47

forgot to add the pool is 1.2m deep I think, so small children are out of their depth

hana · 10/11/2006 17:48

just something I don't understand about swimming programes over here....why aren't they standardized across the country? At one pool it might be level 1 2 3 etc and then across the road it might be tadpoles, goldfish, dolphins etc
wouldn't it be better if it was same everywhere and then standgards would be same?
v confused about that

Original poster

merlin · 10/11/2006 17:50

If the instructor was in with them it wouldn't bother me that he is out of his depth - it's not by much anyway.

Thing is it's not the instructors fault - and she is really good with the kids and all really seem to like her.

OP posts:

Original poster

merlin · 10/11/2006 17:51

Hana - I agree - would make it a lot easier.

OP posts:

Steppy1 · 10/11/2006 17:52

DH's cousin runs this specialist swimming business...If you email him here I'm sure he'll be able to give you some formal guidelines from the instructors perspective... Hope this helps !!!

Mellowma · 10/11/2006 18:46

Message withdrawn

KBear · 10/11/2006 19:05

My DD had a crash course in swimming lessons last year. It was the WORST thing I did. She ended up terrified of water, distressed beyond belie, scared and inconsolable. All because the instructor wasn't in the pool and asked them (beginners) to do ridiculous things like push off backwards from the side and she sunk like a stone obv.

She completed 2.5 days of the 5 day course.

I taught her to swim myself in the end.

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