Calling all swimming teachers: Here are the Summit sessions you need to attend!

Swimming teachers play a crucial role in shaping a young person’s relationship with water –not just in terms of skill, but confidence, competence, and long-term participation. Throughout a participant’s journey to becoming a confident and competent swimmer, it is vital for them to have a teacher that is constantly looking for ways to enhance their learning, cater to diverse needs and always find new ways to enhance lesson delivery.

That’s why at The One Swim England Summit, experts, innovators and inspirational voices from across the sector will come together to help teachers gain fresh insight into how they can create richer, more inclusive and impactful lessons for participants.

So, if you’re a swimming teacher, make sure to attend these sessions at The One Swim England Summit on Thursday 19 March:

Session One – Adapting Aquatics to Create Great Experiences for Neurodivergent Participants

One of the key sessions will explore how small, thoughtful adaptations can open up the world of aquatics to neurodivergent participants. Swimming environments can often be overwhelming for neurodivergent individuals, with bright lights, busy spaces, loud echoes, and traditional teaching styles making what should be a joyful experience a stressful, over-stimulating one.

That’s why, during the ‘Adapting Aquatics to Create Great Experiences for Neurodiverse Participants’ workshop, Swim England’s Alex Barrett and Lorna Goldie will come together with experts and neurodivergent voices to explore how intentional adaptations can transform an individual’s experience in the water, and how we can work together to broaden participation. Together with Olympian and CEO of Neurodiverse Sport, Caragh McMurtry; Alison Bell, Director at SwimPix; Development Manager for Inclusion, Kelly Fellows from the Youth Sport Trust; and Ian Thwaites, Founder & CEO of Level Water Charity, they’ll explore how small, meaningful shifts build confidence, competence and a life-long love for swimming.

Session Two – The Science of Staying Safe: Why water safety goes beyond the pool

Safety has and always will remain at the heart of teaching, and so ‘The Science of Staying Safe: Why water safety goes beyond the pool’ session will unpack why water safety education goes beyond the pool.

Pools offer controlled, comfortable environments for building early swimming skills – but they cannot replicate the cold, unpredictable and often hazardous nature of open water. Therefore, this session explores why relying solely on pool-based learning can leave swimmers unprepared for real world risk.

Along with insights from Professor Mike Tipton MBE, one of the UK’s leading authorities on cold-water response, teachers will explore what really happens to the human body in cold or open water, and why this understanding is essential for building true water competence. By reinforcing messaging such as Float to Live and exploring the value of programmes like Swim England’s Swim Safe, the session helps teachers deliver lessons that prepare children for real-world environments.

Session Three – Bringing Water Competencies to Life: Designing Brilliant Learn to Swim Experiences

Teachers looking for immediate, practical inspiration will also enjoy the ‘Bringing Water Competencies to Life: Designing Brilliant Learn to Swim Experiences’ interactive workshop that inspires and energises the Swim England Water Competencies delivery through exploring practical yet fun ways to embed the competencies at the heart of lessons rather than as isolated outcomes.

The interactive session – with Kate Thornton-Bousfield, CEO of afPE and Swim England’s’ Lorna Goldie – will show how the competencies can be woven into lesson delivery through games, challenges and playful activities that help build confidence, capability and enjoyment for participants. Expect live demonstrations, playful challenges and examples of how technology can be used to enhance engagement and progression. Delegates should leave with practical game-based ideas they can use immediately, a clear understanding of how to teach the competencies through experience, insights into technology’s role in boosting engagement, and a shared vision of what great swimming lessons look like.

Why else should you attend The One Swim England Summit?

In addition to these fantastic sessions, The One Swim England Summit offers swimming teachers something uniquely valuable: it’s a chance to take a step back from the day-to-day and connect with others who share a passion of helping create great experiences in and around water. Join us on Thursday 19 March and connect with those who share your passion, explore insights that look to make teaching more inclusive, more impactful and more enjoyable.

It’s an opportunity to learn from leading experts, hear the voices helping to shape the future of aquatics, and return to the pool with fresh thinking, renewed motivation and practical tools you can start putting into practice.