What badges can I do?
We like to offer a wide range of awards so that the swimmers are skilled in water in various ways, as you will see from the range of awards we plan for. We keep records of the awards that each individual swimmer has achieved, and slot them in to the next appropriate award group as they come along in the annual calendar.
There may be some instances where the next distance award, for instance, is beyond your child's capability at that time. In this case, we will include them in the distance session, with their target being somewhere over their last distance, but not as far as the next one. This means that their confidence can grow in the feeling that they are heading in the right direction.
From the Amateur Swimming Association, we offer:
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National Plan for Teaching Swimming, Stage 1 to Stage 8 - from beginner to pre-competitive
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National Curriculum for Water Safety - this is taught using the school resource pack for Year 6 pupils and adapted for our use
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Preliminary Safety Award
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Personal Survival 1 and 2
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Water Polo - bronze, silver and gold
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Challenge awards - Challenge 1, 2, bronze, silver, gold and Honours
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Swimming Water Skills 1 to 6
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Diving Skills - from Preliminary Diving Skills to the Competitive start award
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School Speed awards - bronze, silver, gold in all strokes, and platinum in selected strokes
From the Swimming Teachers Association, we offer:
We aim for high standards in our teaching and awards. Please have a read of our expectations:
Distance badges - Volunteers are always welcome to help us to count lengths for distance badges - but not for your own child! Teachers will supervise the children whilst they are doing their distance. We tell all the swimmers before they undertake a distance award what will happen if they start to look tired or lose their technique - we will give them some gentle encouragement and see if they can pick it back up. Unfortunately, if the child is unable to continue with a good stroke and without undue stress, we will stop the swimmer from continuing, but in a very upbeat and encouraging 'better luck next time' type of way.
Please respect the Teachers decision if this happens to your child. It's not fair on other swimmers if one is given an award who has fallen below the standard required on that occasion, and may give the child or family a false sense of security in their abilities - there will always be chance for another go at some point!
