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Seven qualities of a good swimming teacher

Careers Advice

The qualities of a good swimming teacher help the great to stand out from the average. Swimming teaching and coaching are active and challenging roles demanding special skills and commitment. But what qualities make you world-class?

Well, we asked a few teachers and coaches for their views on what the qualities of a good swimming teacher are. Then we compiled them to make the ultimate list for professionals seeking to be the best at what they do.

The seven qualities of a good swimming teacher

  1. Continue to learn and adapt – continual professional development (CPD) sessions are a key part of your improvement. Aim for at least 4 sessions a year to keep things fresh.
  2. Keep lessons interesting and appropriate – you do it day in day out. There are some great CPD seminars where you can learn how to vary sessions to keep them fun and check out the Games packs here.
  3. Share and find good practice – speak to other teachers to find out what they are doing.
  4. Be fully qualified – nationally recognised qualifications provide you with the basic tools to do the job and progression through the levels of Swim England courses will qualify you from becoming a support teacher right through to a senior coach.
  5. Be safe and have appropriate insurance coverage available from the IoS.
  6. Be tech-savvy – the best teachers make sure they are taking advantage of technological developments. Online study options, although not providing the benefits of interaction with others, are a time and cost-effective route to boosting your knowledge and at the end of the day, improving your job prospects and earning potential.
  7. Be multi-skilled – it makes sense that to make yourself more employable you should have the ability to cope with whatever is thrown at you.  A truly world-class teacher is trained and knowledgeable in lots of different things – ranging from school swimming, disability, aquafit,  adult and child, and even maybe mini polo.
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