Learn to Swim

A guide to the Learn to Swim Programme

About the Swim England Learn to Swim Programme and Frameworks

Learn to Swim Programme

The Swim England Learn to Swim Programme is the national syllabus used to help teachers deliver swimming lessons.

It ensures swimming lessons for all ages are delivered to a high and consistent standard.

The all-inclusive programme takes non-swimmers on a journey through four specialised Frameworks.

These start with the basics of learning to swim and end with advanced skills for sports such as water polo or diving. There is also a Framework for teaching adults to swim.

The Swim England Learn to Swim Programme

  1. Pre-School Framework – This Framework is aimed at babies and toddlers aged between 0-5 years old. It helps to build the foundation for a lifelong love of water.
  2. Learn to Swim Framework – This Framework is made up of the seven stages of learning to swim, which develop confident and able swimmers using fun and enjoyment to engage learners.
  3. Aquatic Skills Framework – This Framework is made up of three advanced stages, from eight to ten. These build sport specific skills for the other aquatic disciplines, Water Polo, Diving and Synchronised Swimming.
  4. Adult Swimming Framework – This Framework is suitable for older teenagers and adults of all ages and aims to improve confidence and technique, whatever their swimming ability.

The Swim England Learn to Swim Programme Frameworks and Swim England Awards

All four Swim England Learn to Swim Programme Frameworks are intrinsically linked with the Swim England Awards.

These are used to reward children and adults all over the world when they are learning to swim. Each Framework has stages and each stage successfully completed in a Framework comes with a certificate and/or badge as a reward.

There are also complementary badges and certificates to be earned with each Framework. Go to the relevant Framework page linked above to discover more about them.

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