Swimming Stages

Proud to be a member of Swim England

At Wessex Swim School we pride ourselves in offering high quality swimming lessons with fully qualified swimming teachers!

We work on stages from the Swim England framework to access our swimmers. As part of our Wessex Way, we also add additional competencies onto some of our stages to ensure swimmers are ready to move up to the next stage.

Please check out our stages below to get your swimmer booked into the right class with us! If you are unsure about what stage your child should be in Book Your Poolside Assessment!

Swimming teacher teaching a young Student

Extra tuition

A chance to recap and advance the skills from your child’s weekly lessons. If there is a particular area that needs improvement, these lessons are a great way to focus

Busy parents

We often find parents are unable to commit to weekly lessons as they have busy lives but a Holiday Swim Course can give your child the support they need

New swimmers

A gentle introduction to water and swimming. A maximum of 3 children per class and the teacher in the water, this could be what your child needs to give them the confidence to start swimming

Duckling 1

Make a supervised safe entry with adult support if required
Float on back with adult support behind the head without aids
Blow bubbles at the water surface
Wet the head without submersion
Kick five metres on back with adult support
Travel without assistance five metres to a floating object
Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side with adult support
Exit the water safely with minimal adult support

Duckling 2

Make a sitting entry with adult support if required
Using a buoyancy aid, rotate through 180 degrees without assistance
Submerge the face with confidence under adult supervision and without force
Blow an object for a distance of two metres
Travel 3 metres using arms and/or legs without assistance
Move five metres along the rail or wall without assistance
Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side with minimal adult support
Exit the water safely with minimal adult support

Duckling 3

Make a supervised jump to an adult with or without support
Float on front or back without adult support
Show a streamlined shape on front or back when push off from a supporting adult
Blow bubbles with the mouth and nose underwater
Travel 5 metres on front to the side of the pool without assistance
Kick 5 metres on the front holding a float (the adult may hold the other end of the float)
Enter the pool, rotate and return to the side without adult support
Climb out of the water with assistance if required

Duckling 4

Jump in unaided but supervised into the water
Show a mushroom or star float
Rotate 360° either horizontally or vertically
Push and glide achieving a streamlined position on the front or back
Submerge completely
Travel without assistance 10 metres on the front or back
Show the sequence to jump in the water, turn around, swim back to the point of entry and hold on to the side or rail
Climb out of the water with assistance if required

Stage 1

Enter the water safely
Move forward for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor
Move backwards for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor
Move sideways for a distance of 5 metres, feet may be on or off the floor
Scoop the water and wash the face
Be comfortable with water showered from overhead
Move from a flat floating position on the back and return to standing
Move from a flat floating position on the front and return to standing
Push and glide in a flat position on the front from a wall
Push and glide in a flat position on the back from a wall
Give examples of two pool rules
Demonstrate an understanding of pool rules 13. Exit the water safely

WESSEX EXTRA: Front paddle with flat body position.
WESSEX EXTRA: Back flat body position leg kick with pointed toes, hands by side
WESSEX EXTRA: 5-10m on both front paddle and back kick, minimum 5m to be able to move up to Stage 2

Stage 2

Jump in from poolside safely to a minimum depth of 1 metre
Blow bubbles a minimum of 3 times rhythmically with nose and mouth submerged
Move from a flat floating position on the back and return to standing without support
Move from a flat floating position on the front and return to standing without support
Push from a wall and glide on the back – arms can be by the side or above the head
Push from a wall and glide on the front with arms extended
Travel using a recognised leg action with feet off the pool floor on the back for 5 metres
Travel using a recognised leg action with feet off the pool floor on the front for 5 metres
Perform a tuck to rotate from a flat floating position on the front, to a back floating position, then return to standing
Perform a tuck to rotate from a flat floating position on the back, to a front floating position, then return to standing
Perform a log roll from the back to the front
Perform a log roll from the front to the back
Exit the water without support Blank White Box

WESSEX EXTRA: Over arm front crawl with basic breathing
WESSEX EXTRA: Full backstroke
WESSEX EXTRA: Breast stroke legs feet turning out (with floats)
WESSEX EXTRA: Minimum 15m Frontcrawl, 15m full stroke backstroke

Stage 3

Jump in from poolside and submerge to a minimum depth of 1 metre
Sink, push away from wall and maintain a streamlined position
Push and glide on the front with arms extended and log roll onto the back
Push and glide on the back with arms extended and log roll onto the front
Travel 5 metres on the front, perform a tuck to rotate onto the back and return on the back
Fully submerge to pick up an object
Answer correctly 3 questions on the Water Safety Code
Push and glide and travel 10 metres on the back
Push and glide and travel 10 metres on the front
Perform a tuck float and hold for 3 seconds
Exit the water without using steps Blank White Box

WESSEX EXTRA: Front crawl full stroke with breathing to the side
WESSEX EXTRA: Breast stroke arms and legs (timing and breathing in stage 4)
WESSEX EXTRA: Basic dolphin for 5m
WESSEX EXTRA: Minimum 25m front crawl, 25m backstroke to be performed as 50m
WESSEX EXTRA: 15m breast stroke

Stage 4

Perform a sequence of changing shapes (minimum of three) whilst floating on the surface and demonstrate an understanding of floating
Push and glide from the wall towards the pool floor
Kick 10 metres backstroke (one item of equipment optional)
Kick 10 metres front crawl (one item of equipment optional)
Kick 10 metres butterfly on the front or on the back
Kick 10 metres breaststroke on the front (equipment optional)
Perform a head first sculling action for 5 metres in a flat position on the back
Travel on back and log roll in one continuous movement onto front
Travel on front and log roll in one continuous movement onto back
Push and glide and swim 10 metres, choice of stroke is optional
Travel on the back and roll in one continuous movement onto front
Travel on the front and roll in one continuous movement onto back
Swim 10 metres, choice of stroke is optional

WESSEX EXTRA: Breast stroke full stroke with timing and breathing
WESSEX EXTRA: Dolphin legs with start of basic butterfly arm pull
WESSEX EXTRA: Minimum of 50m frontcrawl 50m backstroke to be performed as 100m
WESSEX EXTRA: 25m breast stroke

Stage 5

Perform a flat stationary scull on the back
Perform a feet first sculling action for 5 metres in a flat position on the back
Perform a sculling sequence with a partner for 30-45 seconds to include a rotation
Tread water for 30 seconds
Perform 3 different shaped jumps into deep water
Push and glide and swim 10 metres backstroke (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 10 metres front crawl (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 10 metres breaststroke (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 10 metres butterfly (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Perform a handstand and hold for a minimum of 3 seconds
Perform a forward somersault
Demonstrate an action for getting help
Minimum 200m swim

Stage 6

Give two examples of how to prepare for exercise and understand why it is important
Sink, push off on side from the wall, glide, kick, and rotate into backstroke
Sink, push off on side from the wall, glide, kick and rotate into front crawl
Swim 10 metres wearing clothes
Push and glide and swim front crawl to include at least six rhythmical breaths
Push and glide and swim breaststroke to include at least six rhythmical breaths
Push and glide and swim butterfly to include at least three rhythmical breaths
Push and glide and swim backstroke to include at least six regular breaths
Push and glide and swim 25 metres, choice of stroke is optional (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Perform a “shout and signal” rescue
Perform a surface dive
Exit from the water without using steps. Swim minimum 400m

Stage 7

Push and glide and swim 25 metres backstroke (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 25 metres front crawl (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 25 metres breaststroke (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 25 metres butterfly (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Perform a movement sequence (linking skills with strokes and sculls) of one minute duration, in a group of 3 or more, incorporating a number of the following skills: Sculling: head first, feet first Rotation: forward or backward somersault, log roll Floating: star on the front or on the back, tuck float, create own Eggbeater: moving, lifting one or both arms out of the water
Perform a sitting dive or dive
Push and glide and swim 50 metres continuously using one stroke (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Push and glide and swim 100 metres, using a minimum of three different strokes (performed to Swim England expected standards)
Tread water using eggbeater action for 30 seconds
Complete an obstacle course (using minimum of four objects) with feet off the pool floor throughout Remove Swim minimum 800m