I had been wanting to start the boys in swimming lessons for a while, but wasn’t sure where was the best place to go. We decided to give one of our local Everyone Active leisure centres a try and have been happy with the lessons there.
Here’s our review of the swimming lessons, and if you’re interested in crash courses then check the end of the post for further details and a time table for February 2016 at Northolt Leisure Centre.
At first, I started just my eldest boy in the swimming lessons and it took a couple of sessions for him to get settled in to it and start to feel more confident, but once he did that he has been making great progress in the lessons, so I decided to start his younger brothers alongside him.
Northolt leisure centre is quite large; they have a smaller teaching pool for the earlier stages (preschool, stage 1 and stage 2) and then a main pool for the more advanced swimmers once the children progress. This means that they are able to accommodate lots of different stages at the same time, so I was able to put one child in the preschool class and 2 older ones in the stage one class at the same time. This is really handy, and means I can just take all of them once per week, and none of the children need to wait around for others to have their lessons on different days.
Lessons for all stages are running every weekday after school from 4pm-7pm, and there are some weekend sessions too. It’s very flexible and it’s quite easy to find a lesson day and time that will be suitable, rather than stage one being on a set day, and stage two being on a set day etc.
Each lesson is half an hour long, and the children are in small groups of around 5 children. I was happy to see that the group numbers are kept small, so that each child can get enough attention and support from the teacher, and so that it’s not too over whelming for them either. They also have private lessons available in the leisure centre in the ratios of 1-1, 1-2 or 1-3 if you do prefer that option.
The teachers are friendly and work well with the children. All of them are enjoying their lessons, and looking forward to them each week. Since my boys are still beginners, they have been mostly working on swimming with floats, and kicking their legs to swim on their fronts and on their backs, and the younger two are using pool noodles. At the end of the lesson, they also get the chance to pick up rings from the bottom of the pool, which is normally their favourite part of the session. Recently, my eldest managed to swim across his section of the teaching pool without using the float, so I’m very happy with that progress, from being a complete beginner at the start. I’m planning to continue with these swimming lessons, and I’m sure they will all continue to make good progress with it.
February 2016 Swimming Crash Courses at Everyone Active, Northolt Leisure Centre
If you want to give the lessons a try and see how your child gets on, then a crash course over the half term could be a good idea. Your child will do daily lessons for five days, from Monday to Friday in the mornings. These crash courses are just £20.00 for the week, and always sell out so it is worth booking early.
Crash Courses are a great way to introduce your child to the world of Swimming. As well as improving and to help aiding moving up stages.
If you are interested please speak to reception at your local Everyone Active Centre. The time table below is for Northolt Leisure Centre, but if you are further afield then your Everyone Active Leisure Centre may have something similar on offer.
Find your nearest Everyone Active here: http://www.everyoneactive.com/centre-finder/
Disclosure: We were provided with one term of swimming lessons in order to review, but have since chosen to continue with these.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.