SEQ Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching)

This courses introduces you to the world of teaching.

It will help develop your skills in communication, organisation, planning and confidence.

You will gain a nationally recognised Level 1 Qualification.

This qualification is for assisting or supporting in a teaching environment. It is recognised across the country as a Level 1 qualification which enables you to support teaching to a small group of participants under the supervision of a more qualified teacher.

This is a practical qualification, which will give you the skills needed to act as an assistant swimming teacher

You will learn about:

• The legal aspects of assisting in swimming lessons
• The responsibilities of a Swimming Assistant
• The swimming pathway, fundamental movement, core aquatic skills and component parts of strokes
• Scientific principles of swimming
• What makes up a lesson plan, equipment and communications skills
• How to identify anxiety and use of motivational techniques
• The type of assistance you can provide
• Identify your next career steps.

By the end of this course, you will be able to assist a qualified Level 2 swimming teacher.

Qualification Time

• 30 hours (26 face-to-face guided learning hours)

Entry Requirements

• 16 years+
• No formal entry requirements or prior experience required

Assessment

• Theoretical questions
• Observation record
• Review record

This qualification is not graded. You will either pass or be referred.

Next Steps

Once qualified, your next step is to become an independent swimming teacher, continuing your learning to take the Swim England Level 2 Teaching Swimming qualification and learn the skills to teach children and adults independently

Click the button to download the Swim England Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) Qualification Specification

Level 2 Teaching Pre-School Swimming

 This qualification builds on your Level 1 or Level 2 qualification and will give you the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become a pre-school swimming teacher.

It also includes participation in a minimum of six 30-minute, real-life swimming lessons to gain hands on practical experience.

You will learn about:

• The responsibilities and role of a pre-school swimming teacher
• How early years development, stages of play and reflexes impact on learners swimming ability
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, health related conditions and how to respond and adapt to them
• How to introduce and teach the core aquatic skills in a fun way
• The different supports and holds to use in lessons.
• The advantages and disadvantages of different types of equipment
• How to assess participants swimming ability
• How to plan, adapt and teach lessons which cater for groups with different levels of ability
• Key teaching and lesson management skills including safety and safeguarding, time management and organisational skills, behaviour management, communication skills, teaching methods and motivational techniques
• How to plan for your professional development

By the end of this course, you will be able to independently plan, prepare, deliver and evaluate a series of pre-school swimming lessons.

Qualification Time

• 63 hours (of which 56 are face to face guided learning)

Entry Requirements

• Applicants must be 16 years of age or older

Applicants must also hold one of the following qualifications:

• Swim England Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) post 2007 (or ASA equivalent)
• Swim England Level 2 Teaching Swimming (or ASA equivalent) – eligible for exemptions as some learning already assessed.

Assessment

Assessment is made up of a series of component parts: theoretical questions, lessons plans, lesson overview, observation record, evaluation and action plan.

• All the assessment criteria must be achieved
• All evidence produced by the learner must be their own

This qualification is not graded. You will either pass or be referred.

Next Steps

Once qualified, you can enhance your skills with a CPD.

You could also qualify to deliver learn to swim lessons for stages 1 – 7 by gaining the Level 2 Teaching Swimming qualification if you do not already hold this.

Click the button below to download the Swim England Level 2 Teacher for Babies and Toddlers, choose whether you hold the Level 2 Swimming Teacher qualification as a pre-requisite.

SEQ Level 2 Teaching Swimming

This course fully equips the holder with the skills needed to teach swimmers.  It will further develop your skills in communication, organisation, planning and confidence.

You will gain a nationally recognised  Level 2 qualification

This qualification allows the holder to work independently in a teaching environment.   It is recognised across the country and enables you to plan, teach and evaluate sessions to groups of participants of varying abilities

There are units which normally involve attending a course covering a mixture of theory and pool practical sessions. You will cover topics including communication, planning, evaluating, teaching non swimmers to pre-competition swimmers.

The assessment is 100% coursework based with no formal written exams. On course, you will complete a theoretical knowledge checker. The method of assessment may include completion of worksheets, discussion, role plays, questioning, planning lessons and of course pool practical teaching and coaching!

This qualification builds on your Level 1 qualification and will give you the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become a swimming teacher.

It also includes participation in a minimum of six 30-minute, real-life swimming lessons to gain hands on practical experience.

You will learn about:

• The responsibilities and role of a swimming teacher
• How the scientific principles of swimming impact on learners development
• How to develop core aquatic skills and the four strokes
• How to identify and correct common swimming faults
• How to assess ability and use a variety of teaching techniques and equipment to suit different needs
• How to plan and deliver inclusive lessons for different levels of ability. Includes adaptations for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Key teaching and management skills including class management and assessment, safety and safeguarding, time management and organisational skills, behaviour management, communication skills, teaching methods and motivational techniques
• National curriculum swimming lessons and how they differ from learn to swim lessons
• How to plan for your professional development

By the end of this course, you will be able to independently plan, prepare, deliver and evaluate a series of swimming lessons.

Qualification Time

• 63 hours (of which 55 are face to face guided learning)

Entry Requirements

• Applicants must be 16 years of age or older

Applicants must also hold one of the following qualifications:

• Swim England Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching)
• Swim England Level 1 Award in Teaching Aquatics
• An equivalent ASA qualification certificated after 1994

Assessment

The majority of assessment criteria in this qualification is practical-based.

• All the assessment criteria must be achieved
• All evidence produced by the learner must be their own

This qualification is not graded. You will either pass or be referred.

Next Steps

Once qualified, you can enhance your skills with a CPD.

You could also become a pre-school swimming teacher and learn the skills to teach children 5 years and younger.

Click the button to download the Swim England Level 2 Teacher Qualification Specification

Level 3 Swim Coordinator

HALF Fish is one of the few training providers across the country that will be able to run this course initially.

Our Advanced Practitioner, Shelley Whitehead, was part of the team that actually wrote this qualification in 2018/19.

The SEQ Level 3 Swim Coordinator qualification has been produced collaboratively with the swimming sector, to develop leadership skills, support business needs, improve the customer experience and maximise pool performance.

The programme is relevant to the current operating environment and you will utilise working case studies from your own organisation, creating solutions which can be implemented immediately, to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality and successful swimming programmes.

Who is the course designed for?

This qualification is for current swim coordinators or for those aspiring to be a swim coordinator/ manager (or similar).

Course content

The course is split into 6 modules and delivered through live interactive webinars, classroom sessions and tutorials.

The course modules cover:

Personal development

Evaluating your performance and identify strengths to develop and areas for improvement including:

• Creating Personal Development Plans
• Tracking your training and seeking opportunities

Legal requirements and guidelines

Understanding legal requirements and how they relate to coordinating swimming programmes including:

• Recruitment and work regulations
• Risk assessments

Business development

Producing a business improvement plan and identifying opportunities which maximise revenue and enhances the customer experience including:

• Reviewing figures on a weekly/monthly basis
• Competitor analysis
• Collecting and using customer feedback

Coordinating swim programmes

Monitoring, evaluating and improving swimming programmes including:

• Maximising pool space and timetabling
• Planning events
• Improving sales by engaging and retaining customers
• Reducing waiting lists and preventing bottlenecks
• Wider participation pathways
• Collecting and review participants’ information to ensure programmes and pathways are appropriate

Observation and mentoring

Developing and motivating your workforce including:

• Identifying strengths and areas for development
• Using and adapting motivational techniques
• Positively dealing with staff conflict

Communication

Understanding effective approaches for communicating with stakeholders including:

• Appropriate communication methods for different stakeholders and situations
• Impacting the effectiveness of communication

Assessment

The assessment will consist of an externally moderated portfolio. This will be based on workplace evidence and will require you to demonstrate skills in a scenario situation. The portfolio tasks will require an understanding of the swimming teacher’s role in developing and delivering high-quality swimming teaching as well as being able to show the proven ability to organise workforce members and lead assessment tasks.

Prerequisites

You must be at least 18 years of age or older on the first day of the course

We recommend that you hold an SEQ Level 2 Teaching Swimming qualification (or equivalent), but this is not a requirement.

Click the button below to download the Swim England Level 3 Swim Coordinator Qualification Specification