A complete curriculum that takes children from novice to accomplished swimmer, providing a deep understanding and enjoyment of the water along the way.
Our unique approach to swimming tuition for juniors provides a focus not only on swimming skills but also on water safety and rescue. The programme uses a progressive level system that continually builds water confidence and water safety knowledge. Later on we also develop awareness and ability around rescue. We mix learning, practice and assessment in a fun and caring environment, gradually developing their water skills, including distance, breathing and stroke range.
Each child receives a downloadable commemorative certificate after each level, adding to their personal achievements.
A Lifelong Safety Skill
Water safety and survival skills are things we believe every child should learn. Our courses teach safety on rivers, lakes, sea and farms.
Great Exercise
Swimming is a healthy activity for children. Supervised by supportive teachers, children become more active at a pace that suits them, developing a positive attitude towards exercise.
Grows Confidence
A child may be nervous in the beginning. But their confidence and esteem soon grows. This will help them in other situations such as new school group settings.
Builds Social Skills
Your child will be learning in a fun group environment, improving their social skills outside of school as they meet others with similar interests.
Happy Children
Swimming creates endorphins, helping to burn off energy. Once a child is comfortable in the water, swimming is among the best forms of fun there is.
Cognitive Development
According to studies, swimming helps children develop their mind/body connection. This, in turn, significantly helps improve brain and emotional development.
Continuous Growth
Week on week your child will build their skill set, soon becoming a competent swimmer anywhere – holidays, pools, rivers and lakes, and maybe even the sea!
Support at Every Step
Don’t worry if your child is nervous or doesn’t have experience. Our teachers will be with them all the way, making it easy and fun.
Caring Teachers
We are not just swimming teachers. We are mums, dads, aunts and uncles. We take the caring element of our role very seriously. We want our students to enjoy learning.
A Family Swim Club
We provide courses for all the family. We get to know our swimmers really well. Our swimmers progression and enjoyment are at the heart of what we do.
Sessions are fun and supportive. We will develop your child’s knowledge, skills and safety awareness. Our teachers are patient and professional, working with your child to encourage them to learn and enjoy the process.
Teachers follow a professionally prepared programme. Groups are small with a comfortable teacher to pupil ratio.
At the pool
Each weekly session lasts 40 minutes but please allow time in your schedule for changing before and after. Our classes have drop and go policy. Groups are small and capped at 9 places. After your 40-minute session – we require children to vacate the pool to accommodate the next group.
What does my child bring?
Swimwear, hat, goggles, towels and toiletries are all that are required.
We provide any additional swimming materials needed.
We provide you with full instruction on how to prepare before you start, so don’t worry; it’s nice and easy.
Course Breakdown
Each course consists of 8 weekly sessions. Sometimes the 8 weeks are broken by breaks for holidays.
We run 5 courses (5 terms) per calendar year.
Follow on Courses
At the end of each term, swimmers will be offered priority places via email in the following term you are progressing into before bookings open to the public - These offers stay active for up to 7 days during which time you can secure your place through your user account.
Certificates
After completing a course a personalised certificate of completion for the attending swimmer can be accessed and downloaded from your swimtastic user account.
Swimtastic User Account If you are a new customer we will ask you to set up a user account. A user account is necessary to book a course. Once created you can use it to see course attendance and progression, purchase history, certificates and more.
Attendees
When booking a new course we will collect all the details of those attending the course.
Booking more than 1 course
It’s easy book more than one course. Just go through the process and after you add a course to your cart, you’ll be asked if you’d like to book another.
Follow on Course Offers
To avail of a priority place offer in the next term you must book it through your user account within the specified time to secure your place.
The programme is all about our teachers working alongside with your child to teach them confidence and skills.
Our Junior Academy provides a progressive level curriculum which take young swimmers from beginners to advanced levels. To share our love of water we’ve designed the programme to be highly accessible and allow for easy and steady progression for children of all ability. It’s done through fun, water games, sequences of play, but it is highly structured for progression. The weekly sessions follow a structured session by session and term by term plan. These plans are managed by your teacher and designed for your child’s comfort and to progress children at a comfortable pace.
As skills build with each level of the curiculum it is important that each student has met criteria so that he or she can progress to the next course level safely. The programme skills and abilities our teachers check for at each level can be found under 'learn more’ below.
This is a beginner’s stage for children that are just starting lessons for the first time and for children that may be a little nervous. It is gentle but progressive and supportive. They will be introduced to water safety and hygiene, pool rules and they will begin learning practical swim basics such as water entry and exit, floating, basic movement and how to fully submerge in the water. They will be introduced to water safety in the swimming pool and made aware of water safety at rivers and lakes.
This level is for children that will have already had some experience in swimming pool and aren’t too nervous. They are already confident with water and can fully submerge. In this course they will advance their knowledge of safety hygiene and pool rules. In this level focus is on buoyancy and they will begin floating on their tummy and back with floats. They will learn more about water safety. We will also introduce the children to the world of underwater.
The kids at this level are now comfortable in the water. We move onto practice of personal safety around water and calling the emergency services. They are ready to find their friends under water, they will learn to swim 2 meters, they will go underwater and pick objects from the bottom of the pool. They will learn water games and songs. Now that they know safety basics, they will begin learning about the emergency services and the safety measures in place on pool bank. This level focuses on perfecting a strong, propulsive leg kick.
This level is for children that can already float and fully submerge in the water, and they already have a basic understanding of water safety. They will build on their understanding of blowing bubbles and creating a breathing pattern. Also taking part & playing simple water games. They will advance their underwater skills and begin to learn different movement methods to build their confidence in various positions. They will learn to swim prone and supine. They will become more capable in rescue methods, know all about the hazards, and be able to tell the teacher all about water safety.
This level is for children that are ready to independently swim small distances. So now we’re beginning to get distance into our swimming, our little seals will learn to swim prone and supine, and to become fully independent in the water. They are ready to begin learning strokes. This is focused on awareness of whole-body buoyancy without aids. We’ll begin introducing new floating and stroke techniques and introducing fun elements, such as jumping in. They are ready to swim more than 4 metres prone and supine without aids. They are very confident in the water and very knowledgeable about water safety and hygiene and they also know all about the emergency services.
Children in levels 6 and upwards and already able to swim more than 5 metres without aids. Now the focus moves onto developing different strokes, turning in the water from prone and supine, treading water, swimming in various positions. Children at this level are very confident and knowledgeable about water safety, water hazards, and are confident with all the rescue methods and element taught up to level 5.
Demonstrating short swims with basic stroke skills of front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke and also introducing the basics of dolphin kick. Introduction of rescue with buoyancy aids. Also developing survival skills such as treading water. They’re getting advanced now!
Now we’ll begin teaching more advanced rescues, such as rescue in open water areas. They are already swimming up to 10 metres and able to demonstrate and hold correct stroke technique and show basic skills up to dolphin stroke. They are ready to learn the basics of sculling and diving.
Distances in this level are increasing to 15 metres, with a wider variety of strokes and the ability to hold correct stroke technique. Treading is getting advanced, and these little guys are eager to learn, practise and master more. We will now introduce water ball games.
Holding correct stroke technique up to 20 metres distances here, and now we begin swimming underwater and diving beautifully and safety. These kids know just about all there is to know about water safety in and out of the pool. We will introduce to water polo and understand it’s basic rules.
This level is for children that are very comfortable and experienced in the water. The distances here get much longer and the techniques are advanced. We will bring awareness to their own ability to signal for help in difficulty. Oral tests around safety and rescue are introduced.
They are going further and further, 25 metres plus with front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, inverted breaststroke…..the list goes on. We will extend survival skills practice to calling for help in difficulty whilst fully clothed.
We’re sweating, it’s 50 metres now, and the safety and rescue skills get even better. These kids are ready to summersault!
Now, our kids will be able to teach the emergency services their jobs, and even get in a swim up to 50 metres to help them along the way. These children are very competent and capable swimmers and will now learn all about basic lane swimming rules. Are these little fish beginning to think about competing?
Our most advanced children are indeed more advanced than many of our pro swimmers! Now we’re beginning to think about competition or advanced lane swimming, we have 100 metre swimmers on our hands.
I have three children with Swimtastic, beginning with the Toddler up to the Junior program. Over the last year my eldest little girl has become so confident and is enjoying herself in the junior classes. Which is what it’s all about. Swimtastic are so friendly, accommodating, and responsive to queries. We think these are super lessons for children of all ages.
Our boys just completed their second term with Swimtastic, and they love it. Amanda and Zuzana are amazing with the children and create a really calm, supportive and relaxed environment for learning. They are always so enthusiastic and positive, and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Looking forward to the next term. The boys love their swimming classes.
Our daughter Aeda has just completed 2 courses of lessons with Swimtastic and enjoyed every second of her time in the water. The teachers are amazing. We’ve seen heaps of progress over the duration of the 2 courses and we now have a water confident Seahorse! We’ll definitely be enrolling for a 3rd course and would recommend Swimtastic to anyone considering lessons.
All our courses have been professionally and especially designed by the Swimtastic team. Our courses have the approval of our affiliates; Swim Ireland, STA (UK) and Birthlight.
At Swimtastic we pride ourselves on providing swimming programmes for all ages and abilities.
