Swim England to evolve Coach Education with new curriculum and courses

Swim England is evolving Coach Education to better reflect the realities of modern coaching and support positive experiences for participants across aquatics.

The changes centre on a redesigned Coach Education curriculum, including a new suite of courses and programmes that aim to better support how coaches learn, develop and apply their practice.

What is changing

Coaching has become more complex, more people‑centred and more focused on supporting individuals to learn, develop and flourish in the water. Swim England’s updated approach to Coach Education responds to this by strengthening how coaches are supported through education.

The new curriculum brings together a more connected approach to learning and development and will include four key courses and programmes:

• Coaching Assistant
• Session Coach
• Coach Practitioner
• Senior Coach Practitioner

The curriculum framework, along with the first course guides for Session Coach and Coach Practitioner, is now available to view on the Coach Education page, giving an overview of what is changing and the structure of the new approach.

Working together with the coaching community

Swim England recognises that Coach Education impacts coaches, clubs and members across the aquatic community.

As part of this next phase, the national governing body wants to continue working collaboratively with the community to build understanding of the changes, refine the final details of the courses and support how they are introduced over time.

A series of open drop‑in sessions will be available to provide opportunities to explore the changes in more detail, ask questions and share feedback. The sessions are open to coaches, clubs and anyone with an interest in Coach Education.

Drop‑in session dates and times:

• Monday 22 June 7.30-8.30pm
• Thursday 25 June 10-11am
• Friday 26 June 12.30-1.30pm
• Tuesday 30 June 10-11am
• Wednesday 1 July 7.30-8.30pm
• Thursday 2 July 12.30-1.30pm

Supporting coaches and clubs through transition

This stage of communication focuses on helping people understand what is changing and why.

There is no immediate action required and existing qualifications and learning remain valid. Further information – including how the new curriculum will be introduced over time – will be shared as the programme develops.

More detailed guidance on pricing will also be confirmed and shared in due course.

Becoming a Coach Educator

Coach Educators will play a key role in delivering the new Coach Education programmes.

Swim England will be sharing information on how individuals can get involved in delivering the new courses, including the process for expressing interest and the support available.

To learn more about how to become a Coach Educator, please visit the Coaching Tutor Training page here.

Get involved

This is an important step in the ongoing development of Coach Education and Swim England want to hear from the community.

You can:

• Review the curriculum framework, course guides and explore the latest FAQs
• Join a drop‑in session
• Share your questions and feedback to [email protected]

The national governing body is encouraging coaches, clubs and members to be part of this journey and help shape how Coach Education develops in the future.