Yes, of course! You can come for a FREE trial lesson in any of our sessions at any time during the term. Just email or phone to let us know when you’d like to come. There is absolutely no pressure to join.
We would say ‘whenever they’re ready’. There are no hard and fast rules here, as every child is different. Several of our ‘beginners teachers’ are also trained and experienced Early Years practitioners so are great at helping very young children build confidence in the water and begin to swim.
Of course! Every child matters to us and every child is welcome. Whether a young person has a diagnosis or physical need, social or emotional needs, or we realise they need extra support or an unconventional approach to learning, we will work with you and put in extra staff to support them.
They can enjoy being in a normal group session with other children with the support they need to join in. We already have lots of Shark Squad swimmers with a variety of needs, from physical impairments, dyspraxia and differing abilities to ADHD, ASD, global delay and all sorts in between! It’s wonderful to have such a mix of young people so please just speak to us about your child’s needs.
Yes! A proud smile and a thumbs up from a parent or carer can really add to the positivity of the experience for our swimmers, so by all means come and watch. We have seating along the poolside. All we ask is that you allow us to do the teaching.
No, your children will be safe and cared for with us. Some parents of our older swimmers, or those with babies etc. choose to leave the pool and collect their children at the end of the lesson.
We ask for fees termly (the old ‘half terms’ of 6-8 weeks) and you will receive an invoice just before or at the start of the term. We are however flexible and some of our parents pay weekly by cash, some in instalments, and others the whole term at any time during the term.
No. Our classes are organised so that children of similar ability are grouped together of course, and we teach the same techniques and skills as Swim England schools, but progress and movement between classes is much more flexible and child centred – it is based on our professional judgement and our knowledge of individual children not on a universal tick sheet. For example, if a child is generally able enough to move up to the next class but struggles with a couple of skills, we will move them to the next class because that is the best fit for them to help them progress. When their ‘struggle skills’ are taught in the new class we will just give them extra support in that class. No child is ever held back by a tick sheet or a single skill.
This will NEVER happen at Shark Squad! If a child is ready to move up, they move up immediately, no question. This may mean we have to move a dividing rope along a bit and add an extra teacher or assistant, but your child will never be held back because of ‘space in the lesson’.
The directors and lead teachers Zoe and Becky, along with several other of our teachers are long-time qualified Swim England teachers with at least 30 years of teaching and coaching experience.
We are also ex-competitive swimmers so we really know about swimming! We put all our teachers onto the highest Swim England qualification possible for their age and also make sure they complete the swim teachers lifesaving qualification as a minimum. Lesson plans are personalised to the children in each lesson and checked by the experienced lead teachers.
The most important thing though, is that we have our own teacher training programme too, with regular CPD, where we share ideas, discuss new developments in teaching and most importantly constantly reinforce our philosophy of child-centred learning. You will also see our younger teachers ask the advice of more experienced staff as they teach (for example asking for advice about how to help a certain child with a particular skill) – in this way all our teachers are constantly developing their experience of highly effective, personalised teaching. In short, our teaching technique is excellent and in line with (or better than) standard Swim England schools.
We just have a more flexible and child-centred approach to how we manage the lessons.
Anyone in a red T-shirt! You can speak to your child’s teacher before or after the lesson, or any of the other teachers or assistants if it’s just a general question or concern. They will also direct you to Becky or Zoe (Shark Squad directors and lead teachers) if needed.
If you need to ask something when not at a lesson you can phone 07747 881011 or email sharksquad.glos@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
For safeguarding concerns please contact our Designated Safeguarding Leads Emma Edwards or Becky Kefford.
No, we don’t have parents in the water.
We have high ratios of staff to students so your children will be fully supported and safe in the water during the session.
