Our teachers are really put through their paces. That's what makes them the best trained teachers in the world. They're the only ones that can achieve Swim England's Level 3 qualification, the highest that can be achieved.
One of the first things our teachers say after completing the course is "that was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done!" But they also say that it was "one of the best things I’ve ever done!" too.
Many of our teachers first get involved in the process because they’ve seen first-hand what happens in our lessons through being a customer. They’ve caught the bug, and truly care about giving other carers and their babies the same amazing experience that they had.
Our teachers will attend both a 'wet' interview and a 'dry' interview. They'll start with a series of skills-based assessments and interviews, before they dive into the Water Babies teaching programme. These interviews will look at their behaviour, attitude and commitment to the programme.
They then go on to complete six weeks of online learning, where they learn about everything from scientific principles to pool equipment, risk assessments and more. Before they attend the course, they also spend a minimum of ten hours shadowing a range of teachers and lessons in many locations. Phew!
They then dive straight in with an eight-day residential course, which includes ten hours a day in the pool followed by evenings spent exploring the programme in depth and learning about child development, strokes and skills.
After their residential course and having learnt a huge amount of content in great depth, they'll then jump into the water to lead on a minimum of 22 lessons, supervised by our highly experienced mentors. Our nationally qualified assessors will watch a range of these lessons to make sure they're up to standard.
They’ll then get their books out again for more online learning, where they dive deeper into the science behind our programme. They'll also go off and gain their qualifications in lifesaving and safeguarding. And it's not until all of this is complete that they earn their blue teacher top and qualify as one of the best teachers in the world.
But it doesn’t end there. Our teachers will continue to undergo further assessment and development as they progress in their careers.