Starfish SEND Swimming Sessions

Our Starfish SEND swimming sessions are specially designed for children with additional needs.

The lessons are designed to provide a fun and engaging introduction to the water. They focus on building a child’s confidence, buoyancy, and balance, helping them feel comfortable and safe in the water. Alongside this, the programme also introduces water safety awareness and the foundations of stroke-based swimming skills to enhance each child’s enjoyment and ability in the pool.

The programme is structured into five progressive stages, allowing children to advance at a pace that suits their development.

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Stages

Group 1

Group 1 is the entry-level stage where a parent or carer joins the child in the water. This stage is all about introducing basic swimming skills and water confidence, with activities that the adult can do alongside the child. The swimming teacher remains on the poolside, observing each child to assess their comfort and capability in the water.

Group 2

Group 2 marks the transition to independent swimming, with children using floatation aids. At this stage, they must be comfortable being in the water without one-to-one adult support. Children continue to build confidence and begin developing basic techniques such as kicking on their front and back.

Groups 3 to 5

As children progress through Groups 3 to 5, the use of floatation aids is gradually removed. Each level introduces more advanced swimming skills, including stroke development and increased stamina.

Group 5

By Group 5, lessons take place in deeper water, and children are expected to swim confidently using all four strokes. They also begin learning lifesaving skills and swimming longer distances.

Sessions

Each session lasts 30 minutes and run between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.

Suitable for children ages 4 years and over.

Upon completing the Starfish programme, children will be well-prepared to move onto general swimming lessons, our Swim Fit programme, or the Swimming Academy for more advanced training.

Contact

Please contact Vicky Connor at send@scll.co.uk to book or for further information.

My self and my daughter were very excited about the starfish swimming lessons that started recently as it’s not been possible for her to have swimming lessons due to her disability/ needs until the starfish program was brought to our area. My daughter absolutely loves going to her swimming lesson, has made fantastic progress in the short time she has being doing it.

Parent of a child in SEND lessons

Cost

There are two ways to pay for lessons:

Direct Debit – you can spread the cost with regular monthly payments, avoiding the queues at reception. Apply to switch to Direct Debit
Cash or card – pay for a block of 10 lessons at reception

Direct Debit £27.50 per month

Block of 10 lessons £71.50