Children at Tops Salisbury are working towards their Duckling Awards at weekly Swimming Club.
This summer, England’s little five year old Prince George has been learning to swim. The royal parents publicly support all efforts to engage children in the watery sport and have said that it is a skill they firmly believe people should have.
It’s nice to know that the royals agree with our viewpoint at Tops!
While not everyone can jet off to private Caribbean islands to learn to swim, our children at Tops Salisbury can pop round the corner to the swimming pool at the onsite Health Club. We could argue that it’s even better- no palm trees overshadowing the water, no gritty sand underfoot, and no exhausting plane journey to get there.
Swimming is possibly the only sport that can save someone’s life. Children can drown in less than an inch of water, in under 30 seconds, and drowning is still one of the leading causes of injury death in children under 4. With that in mind, why would we not consider learning to swim a fundamental skill? At Tops, we believe it is, and Tops Salisbury are giving parents a helping hand in fitting in swimming lessons.
Our swimming Club runs up to 4 times a week, for our children aged 2.5 and up. By the time they’re 5, they’ll be confidently out-swimming Prince George in any race!
We follow the national swim curriculum set out by Swim England, where children work towards their Duckling Awards. There are four different awards to progress through. Completion of each stages comes with a colourful certificate and a much loved badge.
1:
1:- Make a supervised safe entry with adult support if required.
- Float on back with adult support behind the head without floatation equipment.
- Blow bubbles at the water surface.
- Wet the head without submersion.
- Kick 5 metres on back with adult support.
- Travel without adult support for 2 metres to a floating object.
- Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side with adult support.
- Exit the water safely with minimal adult support.
2:
- Make a sitting entry with adult support if required.
- Rotate 180 degrees either using a log roll or an upright position, using floatation equipment and without adult support.
- Submerge the face with confidence and without force under adult supervision.
- Blow an object for a distance of 2 metres.
- Travel 3 metres using arms and/or legs without adult support.
- Move 5 metres along the rail or wall without adult support.
- Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side with minimal adult support.
- Exit the water safely with minimal adult support.
3:
- Make a supervised jump to an adult with or without support.
- Float on the front or back without adult support.
- Push off on the front or back in a streamlined shape from a supporting adult.
- Blow bubbles with the mouth and nose underwater.
- Travel 5 metres on the front to the side of the pool without adult support.
- Kick 5 metres on the front holding a float (the adult may hold the other end of the float).
- Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side without adult support.
- Climb out of the water with adult support if required.
4:
- Jump into the water unaided, but supervised.
- Perform a mushroom or star float.
- Rotate 360 degrees either using a log roll or an upright position.
- Push and glide achieving a streamlined position on the front or back.
- Submerge completely.
- Travel 10 metres on the front or back, without adult support.
- Jump into the water, turn around, swim back to the point of entry and hold on to the side or rail.
- Climb out of the water with adult support if required.
Of course, learning to swim shouldn’t stop once children have graduated from our Tops family. Swim England has a set of awards designed to follow children from pre-school onwards. If your little one really loves being in the water, there are even awards for synchronised swimming and water polo! Lots of information on the Learn to Swim stages 1-7 and 8-10 can be found here.
To find out more about Tops Salisbury, or to book a visit, click here.
