The hardest part of selecting a swim school for your tikelet is finding the right one and the variety can often be overwhelming.
We've put together a list our top 6 tips to help with your decision making.
1. Reputation
A good swim school will have their followers, a great swim school will have families shouting from the roof tops. Check out your friends' social media accounts for their proud swimming moments posts, post on local parenting and community groups asking for feedback, ask around at kindy/school/daycare and do some sleuth work through Google and see what pops up (it could be negative reviews, amazing work they've done in the local community, appearing in the media, industry awards they've won or more about their philosophies). If you do hear negative feedback, don't be afraid to ask why and get to the bottom of it, as what doesn't suit one family may suit yours perfectly.
2. Welcoming environment
A great swim school should welcome you with open arms and have no hesitation if you turn up out of the blue to view their program. Yes they might be busy, but they should have no worries with you viewing their lessons and day to day operations in real time. They should also arrange a more convenient time to talk in depth with you about their program, openly answer any questions you may have and overload you with information and passion about their program.
When viewing lessons, a fantastic sign of a great swim school is watching the interaction not only between staff and swimmers, but staff and parents, parents and other parents and of course staff and staff. Great interactions on all levels shows communication, trust and being apart of a group with the same goals and philosophies.
3. Clean and well maintained facilities
Every time you visit the swim school it should be clean and well maintained. This includes the pool water which should be clear, have good visibility, little to no debris on the bottom (outside centers can have leaves blown in during classes) and no strong odors. The water for small children should also be heated between 32-34 degrees.
Facilities should also include adequate change tables, change areas, seating and viewing areas, bathroom facilities and bins.
4. A Great Curriculum
A great curriculum should have a child centered approach that maximizes learning time and gives children the opportunity to practice their skills at their own rate in between turns with the instructor.
Groupings of levels should be skilled based, with each level focusing on a variety of components broken into smaller more achievable activities to build on a child's skill set in a progressive manner through quality repetition. Levels should flow smoothly on from each other making transitioning easy for children and pave the way for an obvious skill pathway through the program.
A great swim school will be able to describe in detail each of the skills they teach, why they teach it and where it fits into the overall picture of your child's aquatic education. It will also have a large weekly component on being safer around the water by teaching skills such as getting back to the side after a submersion, rolling to float, and deep water exposure to name just a few.
If a swim school has a graduation point, they should be able to refer you on to other great programs best suited to the needs of your child's aquatic journey. This may not just be swimming, but any water based activity including surfing, snorkeling, junior lifeguard and nippers programs, underwater hockey, diving, rowing, boating, synchronized swimming and stand up paddle boarding.
Most importantly your child should feel welcome, safe and happy to attend their lessons with the confidence to openly communicate their needs to their instructor and support staff in a small class environment for optimal learning. Parents should also feel that they can communicate and form bonds with staff at any time.
5. Industry Recognized
All reputable swim schools should be registered with at least one national swimming body including Swim Australia, Australian Swim Schools Association, AUSTSWIM and Royal Life Saving Society so that they are accountable to the industry code of conduct and child led teaching philosophies. Their instructors should also hold relevant qualification with one of the above mentioned national bodies.
6. The little things
A great swim school will also do the little things like remembering it's your child's birthday, be approachable, supportive and sensitive in those times when something is happening in your family, have fundraisers for charities important to their customers, be involved in the local community, give you a call if your missing in action to make sure everything is ok, congratulate your child on their achievements big and small, and be aware of things like your child's fears, likes and friends to provide the best learning environment for them, to name just a few.
What about all those big things you didn't mention?
Cost:
If it's more expensive does that mean it's better?
Cost of lessons are based on the operating cost of a center, not the quality of the program. A larger or newer center will have greater overheads than a smaller or older center. Many smaller centers also feel that they can't charge the same as a large center due to not having as many classes on or the same amount of facilities. This has nothing to do with the quality of their service or curriculum. There are also many programs out there that are funded due to being registered charities so they can offer their programs cheaper, again this doesn't imply that their service or curriculum is of a lesser quality. On the reverse side, the cheapest is not always the best for your child and your family, hence why you shouldn't use price as an indicator for joining a swim school.
Venue size:
If it's a big facility surely that means it's a better program?
Just like cost, the size of a venue shouldn't be a primary factor in your decision on a swim school, but a secondary concern. Some children thrive in centers where they can clearly see the next couple of levels swimming around them in other designated teaching areas and use this as inspiration to get to the next level. Other children find this environment overwhelming and prefer a less busy environment with less classes running and less distractions. If you narrow your choice down to two centers and one happens to be big and the other small, take your child for a look around and get their feedback. After all they are the ones that will be learning in this environment.
Bells, whistles and shiny things:
If a program has the latest technology does that mean their ahead of other programs?
Not necessarily. It just means that they have the capital or have deemed this investment necessary to their business. It doesn't mean that they stay informed with industry break throughs and research, or have consistent staff training to make sure their staff are teaching the latest most efficient and safest methods. The only way you can find out this information from big, medium and small programs alike is to ask and not by looking at all the bling. Never judge a book by it's cover.
If you think there's a vital area we've missed when looking into a swim school, we'd love to hear your feedback.
