Water Babies launches programme for older children

Water Babies has launched its new ‘Swimvincible’ programme, which will offer swimming lessons to children aged 4+ for the first time.

The swim school has specialised in offering swimming lessons for babies and toddlers, but is now offering its services to older children as part of tackling the lack of availability for lessons across the UK.

It is estimated that almost one in three children cannot swim the statutory 25m distance when they leave school. A huge contributor to the worrying stat is that, according to Swim England data, around 667,000 children in the UK are missing out on swimming lessons due to a lack of teachers and lesson availability.

Water Babies operates at more than 560 pools across the UK, through a network of 56 franchises and 600 teachers. By expanding its offering to older children, Water Babies hopes to “hugely increase” the number of swimming lessons available across the UK over the course of the next year.

The Swimvincible programme has been developed for all children aged 4+, regardless of ability. Children will be able to join a class appropriate to their level to establish and develop crucial swimming and life-saving skills.

Water Babies CEO Howard Harrison said: “We have an ambitious vision for the company to teach 140,000 children every week across 8 countries by 2029 – up from 50,000 children in six countries today. Launching the Swimvincibles programme in the UK creates a huge opportunity for us to offer more lessons to more people here in our home market.”