Frequently asked questions: Q. Does my child need armbands? A. No, although if your child wants to wear armbands, we will work with them & remove them as soon as possible. Q. Should my child eat before swimming? A. No. You shouldn't eat less than an hour before going swimming. Eating later than this can cause cramp and vomiting. PLEASE DON'T EAT BEFORE SWIMMING. Q. Can we take photographs or videos? A. Due to child safeguarding we can’t allow any photos or videos to be taken during lessons. We can arrange for a photo session, which also includes underwater photos and videos. Please ask at reception for details. Q. Should I take my child swimming in between lessons? A. Yes, the more time and experience a child has in the water, the quicker their confidence will build and the quicker they will improve. Q. How long will it take for my child to learn to swim? A. Every child is different and develops at different times. The earliest we expect to see children able to swim unaided & tread water is 2 years if they have been coming since they were a baby. Most children should be able to swim 10m easily on their front and back by their 5 th birthday, if they have consistently had lessons since a baby. Q. How long should I keep my child in the swim school? A. This depends on how far you want to take their swimming. We would recommend reaching and passing Stage 7, by which time your child will be a strong and competent swimmer. As an absolute minimum, they should reach and pass Stage 5. If they want to go on further than this, we can take them up to Stage 10 through our Swim Academy. We have children who have been in the swim school for over 10 years, who are now very competent swimmers. We have children who go on to competitive swimming, artistic swimming and triathlons, and some who want to continue to build their water skills and swim for fitness or enhance their surf lifesaving performances. Q. My child is very apprehensive or tearful about coming swimming. What should I do? A. Please let a member of staff know if you have problems getting your child into the swimming lessons. It is quite common for children to be apprehensive and even have a crisis of confidence well into their swimming lessons. But perseverance is the best way forward. It helps us to know of any problems your child may be experiencing or may have experienced which may need careful nurturing. Please bring to our attention anything you feel is relevant. Details will be treated with the utmost discretion and confidentiality. We have parents who would be willing to talk to you about their own experiences if you need reassurance that your child should stay in lessons. Please ask at reception if you need any assistance with this.