This course develops your knowledge, skills and abilities as a swimming teacher. It builds on the SEQ Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) qualification and gives you the skills to independently plan and deliver swimming lessons.

Training format

There are two ways to complete your SEQ Level 2 Teaching Swimming qualification:

1. Face to Face

   – this will be delivered at a venue with a tutor in a classroom and practical environment.

2. Blended learning programme

   – consisting of:

   • Theory – This will be delivered online through interactive e-learning and four zoom webinars
   • Practical – This will start with three zoom webinars to cover some practical topics and your venue orientation. You will then go on to do four, half-day practical sessions at the pool and a final webinar with your tutor.

Face to Face course

The course is delivered through a mixture of classroom activities and practical poolside learning. You will participate in at least six 30-minute swimming lessons to gain hands-on practical experience.

Online theory

The specialist e-learning is split into bite-sized pieces, so you don’t have to do it all in one go. This will mean you can work through the course online at home, at your own pace.

You will be supported through your e-learning with four webinars. These will be led by your tutor and you will be joined by others who have also begun training.

The first webinar will help you kick-off your studies then you will have your second and third webinar around two weeks into your online learning where you will cover more of the course content. This will also give you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have and share your experience of the course so far. There will be a final webinar once you have finished your online learning.

During this time you will also be able to contact your course tutor via email. Your tutor will be using Google classroom to support your lesson planning and learning, so you will need to create a google account. You will be guided through this in your first webinar.

Practical sessions

Once you have completed your theoretical training you will then be able to book on to your practical session which will include more course content and your practical assessment at the pool.

Due to current Covid-19 guidelines and to ensure everyone’s safety, we will be keeping the amount of time you spend at the pool to a minimum so these practical sessions will consist of:

• Three Zoom Webinars
  • During these sessions, the tutor will cover the last of your practical topics, a venue orientation and planning for your swimming lesson assessments.
• Four, half-day Practical assessment sessions at the pool
  • These will consist of a meet and greet, planning and preparation, lesson delivery of at least six 30-minute swimming lessons, peer observations and feedback. You will then also need to complete evaluations and an action plan.
• There will then be a final webinar once you have finished the above where you will receive one to one feedback from your tutor.

We run courses at leisure centres across England so you can be assured you will never have to travel far to complete your qualification.

Course content

You will learn about:

• The responsibilities and role of a swimming teacher
• How the scientific principles of swimming impact on development
• How to develop core aquatic skills and the four strokes
• How to identify and correct common swimming faults
• How to use a variety of teaching techniques and equipment to suit different needs
• How to plan and deliver inclusive lessons for different levels of ability. Includes adaptations for swimmers with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Key teaching and management skills including class management and assessment, organisational skills, behaviour management, communication skills, and teaching methods
• National curriculum swimming lessons and how they differ from learn to swim lessons

Download a PDF of the full SEQ Level 2 Teaching Swimming specification.

This qualification has been endorsed by CIMSPA as meeting the requirements of the swimming teacher professional standard.

Prerequisites

You must be at least 16 years of age and hold the SEQ Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) qualification or equivalent Swim England/ASA qualification certificated after 1994.

Job prospects

Becoming a swimming teacher in the UK you can look forward to an active and challenging role with great chances of employment. Many local pools are always on the lookout for new staff. It is also great for mums, dads, guardians and students as the hours are very flexible.

Average pay is around £13 an hour. For a full breakdown of average hourly rates see our salary checker.

For current employment openings, you can also look at our jobs section.