Babies and toddlers
A brief overview of our various baby and toddler lessons, which range from six weeks to 24 months. All classes listed below are parent and child classes.
Starfish Class 0-6 month olds - Tiny Babies
Our 0-6 month old classes introduce your tiny baby to water in as relaxed a way as possible. Babies can join from just six weeks old (they do not need to have completed their injections under the current Department of Health guidelines). Our aim in these classes is primarily for parent and baby to enjoy being in the water together. We encourage lots of eye contact with fun activities and play. Songs and rhymes provide gentle stimulation and are an effective way to communicate with your baby. Tiny babies enjoy the water massaging their bodies and the freedom of movement and buoyancy that it provides.
We introduce the underwater environment, too, with a focus on the communication between parent and baby. This offers a unique sensory experience and develops confidence in the water. Babies love to float on their backs with their ears in the water, gazing up at their parent. Swimming with parent promotes skin-to-skin contact, security and a wonderful feeling!
Starfish Class 7-12 month olds - Babies
Our underwater activities continue to focus totally on the baby, with small exercises designed to maintain their trust and confidence, watching their faces and responding to their cues. The songs and rhymes are the most natural way for babies to listen and learn. All activities are carefully balanced to ensure they have fun and stay relaxed. Repetition provides fun, reassurance and promotes learning.
Clownfish Class 12-24 month olds - Toddlers
Our 1-2 year olds are mostly toddlers now and love to play! They enjoy splashing, jumping in, kicking their legs and chasing balls. We encourage this with fun games and songs, together with swimming time with their parent.
Our toddlers love to interact with each other, too, and the songs and group activities provide a focus for this. Most of the children in this class are extremely comfortable taking little swims on their own, both with woggles and unaided. Without realising it, our toddlers are becoming skilled and safety conscious. They love to blow bubbles (the first step to learning to exhale in the water) and playing with the various water toys we provide. Repetition makes learning to swim easy and natural.
Preschool
Seahorses and Mini Turtles
Course Program 2-4 year olds – Options for parent and child or child only classes
2-4 year old - Seahorse (Parent & Child)
Our Pre-schoolers are keen! Balls, toys, woggles and floats are used to improve alignment, style and confience whilst jumping. Sometimes making big splash! 2-4 year olds initiate their swimming by taking a breath, putting their face in the water, exhaling and kicking. Before long their small swims just get longer. They love to wear their goggles, join in with the games and hunt for sinking toys in the pool. Swimming and turning activities promote water safety and develop ease of movement in the water..
3-4 year olds - Mini Turtles (Child Only)
Academy
Our Academy Swimming classes (for Primary school children) follow the same ethos as our baby and pre-school classes. We believe that all children have a natural affinity with the water, and can enjoy the experience of swimming with an efficient, fluid stroke. We start with simple skills and build on these slowly, in easy steps in accordance with your child’s physical ability and understanding. We balance this with fun activities to develop additional skills including life-saving floating and surface diving.
Mini Turtle – New Swimmers (0-10 Metres)
Parent and Child Sea Turtle
Sea Turtle – Progressing Swimmers (5-10 Metres)
Sea Lion – Progressing Swimmers (25-50 Metres)
Dolphin – Competent Swimmers (50-100 Metres)
Whale – Good Swimmers (200+Metres)
Private Lessons
We often get asked for private swimming lessons. The reason for parents choosing private tuition for their children can be varied, although mostly it is to improve a child’s confidence or to work on a particular stroke. You may also find a private lesson (or a course of them) useful prior to going on holiday or to the child starting swimming at school.
Whatever your objectives, each of our half hour long private classes is held by one of our fully qualified instructors who will tailor the class exactly to your child’s needs. The classes can be booked as one-off sessions and in Colchester only can also be booked as a course (to be taken over consecutive weeks), which represents a small saving over booking the classes individually.
Cost for private lessons
Stanway
One child- £32 per lesson or £180 for a course of six
Two children (of the same ability)- £38 per lesson or £210 for a course of six
Dunmow
One child- £32 per lesson or £180 for a course of six
Two children (of the same ability)- £38 per lesson or £210 for a course of six
Availability
We regret that we currently have no availability for private classes at our Chelmsford, Frinton or Lexden pools.
Private Group Lessons
How to book
If you are thinking about booking some privat swimming tuition for your child at any of the pools listed above, please do get in touch on:
01376 340 310
We look forward to hearing from you.
IMPORTANT: Terms of use
- You must not arrive before your allotted time and must be off site by the end of your hour. Anyone who leaves late will not be allowed a future booking.
- Safe swimming practices must be adopted including no running and no jumping in from the non protected sides.
- Swimmers do so at their own risk understanding there is no life guard present.
- Children who are not toilet trained must wear a happy nappy over a disposable swim nappy.
Should an instance occur during a private swim that renders the pool out of use due to the rules being broken, Mini Swimming reserve the right to charge the rule breaker for all the hire time that was lost. - Private hire sessions are non refundable. If you are unable to attend you can reallocate the slot to another person ensuring that Mini Swimming are given all the contact details.
- There are no more than 4 adults and 4 children in the pool at any one time. If any more people than this arrive they shall be turned away.

useful information
Get in touch
We hope you can find most of the answers you need here on our site, but if not, feel free to drop us an email using the form or give us a call on 01206 483933