Duckling lessons
Pre-school
Our Duckling lessons are delivered with a fun and playful approach for pre-school children that are ready for a world of exploration and learning with one of our fully qualified instructors.
Each Duckling class is kept very small with only 3-4 children per lesson, for these lessons parents and carers are invited to watch all the fun from our pool side seating area!
Here at Under the Sea, our Duckling swimmers will experience a whole range of new skills from:
- Developing water confidence
- Independent swimming (with buoyancy aids)
- Floatation
- Independent swimming (without buoyancy aids)
Plus along their Duckling journey, there will be 5 exciting awards to collect along the way. From our Duckling 1 certificate where you will see your child start to make their way around the pool by themselves, all the way up to our Duckling 5 certificate where they will have the confidence to jump in, submerge under water, float and swim all without the use of floats or arm bands!
Duckling 1
By completing this award you should be able to:
- Enter the water safely with adult support
- Blow bubbles at the water surface
- Wet the head without submersion
- Swim 5m on front with adult support
- Swim 5m on back with adult support
- Star float on back with adult support
- Jump in (seated if necessary), rotate and return to the side with adult support
- Exit the water safely with adult support
*Floatation aids may be used to pass this stage. All 8 outcomes must be achieved to pass this stage.
Duckling 2
By completing this award you should be able to:
- Make a seated entry, with adult support if required
- Submerge the face with confidence
- Blow an object for 5m
- Swim on front for 10m
- Swim on back on 10m
- Swim on front for 5m, log roll to back, swim on back for 5m
- Swim on back for 5m, log roll to front, swim on front for 5m
- Pencil float on back with adult support
- Move along the rail / wall to exit at the steps without adult support
- Jump in (standing), rotate and return to the side with minimal adult support
*Floatation aids may be used to pass this stage. All 10 outcomes must be achieved to pass this stage.
Duckling 3
- Make a seated entry without adult support
- Submerge the head and face completely with adult support
- Swim on front for 20m
- Swim on back for 20m
- Swim on front for 10m, rotational tuck and return on back for 10m
- Using a float (arms outstretched), kick for 5m on front
- Star float on back without adult support for 10 seconds
- Pencil float on back without adult support for 10 seconds
- Push and glide on back with adult support
- Push and glide on front with adult support
- Jump in (standing), rotate and return to the side without adult support
- Swim without floatation aids for 5m
*Floatation aids may be used to pass this stage – except criteria 12.
**10 of the 12 outcomes must be achieved to pass this stage.
Duckling 4
By completing this award you should be able to:
- Jump into the water unaided, but supervised
- Submerge the head and face completely without adult support
- Swim through the hoop with the face submerged for 3m
- Swim on front for 15m then swim on back for 15m – 4 lengths in total
- Swim on back for 10m, rotational tuck and return on front for 10m
- Breaststroke legs on back for 10m
- Mushroom float on back without adult support for 10 seconds
- Mushroom float on front with face submerged and with adult support
- Push and glide on back without adult support
- Push and glide on front with face submerged and without adult support
- Jump in the deep end, rotate 360° spin and swim to ladders
- Swim without floatation aids for 10m
*Floatation aids may be used to pass this stage – except criteria 12.
**10 of the 12 outcomes must be achieved to pass this stage.
Duckling 5
By completing this award you should be able to:
- Jump into the water unaided, but supervised
- Submerge the head and face completely without adult support
- Swim through the hoop with the face submerged for 3m
- Swim on front for 15m
- Swim on back for 15m
- Swim on front for 10m, rotational tuck, and return on back for 10m
- Breaststroke legs on front with floatation aids for 10m
- Backstroke with floatation aids for 10m
- Push and glide (front or back)
- Star float on back for 5 seconds
- Pencil float on back for 5 seconds
- Mushroom float on back for 5 seconds
- Attempt to retrieve submerged object with adult support
- Jump in, return to side and climb out without the use of ladders
*Floatation aids may not be used to pass this stage unless otherwise stated.
**12 of the 14 outcomes must be achieved to pass this stage.
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