FAQs

You can find this information via your Doddle account. From the homescreen - right at the bottom - you can see what your child is working towards in their lessons. Underneath the skills, you will see a reference to a stage, and this is the stage that they are currently working towards.

You may sometimes notice, for example, that you child is in a stage 1 class but is working towards stage 2. This is normal, and there isn't anything you need to do. It's usual for some of our classes to be mixed, and there may be some children in the lesson who are working towards the stage above or below yours. The activities will always be adapted to each swimmer - as we know that each child learns at their own pace, and has their own unique learning style.

Every single child we teach is different, and they all learn at different paces. Within our swimming lessons, this means that children will progress in different ways.

Sometimes, parents will contact us because they are worried that their child isn't progressing as quickly as their classmates, or because they notice that skills have not been ticked off on the 'working towards' section of the Doddle account.

We keep a really close eye on our swimmers. Our instructors do this during lessons, our coordinators provide an extra set of eyes while at the pool, and we have an office support team too. When we see your child complete a skill - consistently, and using the correct technique - we will mark it as complete.

At some points in their learn to swim journey, you may see a lot of skills being ticked off at once; at other times, though, it may feel a bit slower. This doesn't mean that your child isn't progressing - some skills are just a little trickier to master than others, and may take a little longer. We also know that until they can master one skill, they are unlikely to be able to do other things in the water. For example, until they are confident putting their face in the water, children will struggle to maintain a flat body position. Once they crack that skill - putting their face in the water - the rest of the skills needed to pass stage 1 often come quite easily.

Easier said than done, we know, but try not to compare your child to the other swimmers in their class. They may not be progressing quite as quickly as their friend this term, but that could all change next term. They are in good hands... don't worry! If you are concerned, though, grab one of our coordinators at your next lesson, or contact them via email.

This might be because we haven't seen your child complete the skill consistently quite yet. It's great that they've managed to do it this week, and we are as proud as you! We want to see them do it again next week... and then again a couple of weeks after that - just to make sure they've really got it.

The other reason that the skill might not have been marked as complete is because we need to work with your child to perfect their technique a little. After all, we want them to become a confident, competent, and efficient swimmer - and to do this we need to ensure that they have really nailed those core skills.

Your child might be in a stage 3 class, but they may be working towards stage 4. When we label the classes, we do so according to what the majority of the children in that session are working towards. Your swimmer might be working to a slightly different stage, and this is perfectly normal.

To check what stage your child is working towards, look at the 'working towards' section on the home screen of your Doddle account.

What if, though, Doddle says your child is working towards stage 2, but they have already achieved this elsewhere?

The first thing to bear in mind is that our stages are a little bit different to those used at other swim schools. They are based on the Swim England Learn to Swim Pathway. We ask our swimmers, though, to go above and beyond what may other swim schools expect. Why? Because we focus - really focus - on consistency and technique. This is what makes our swimmers awesome.

So yes, your swimmer might be working towards a different stage, or they might be a stage behind their friend who is learning elsewhere. We promise you, though, they will come out as a confident and competent swimmer, with a technique that would make even an Olympic swimmer proud (trust us, we know... as we have one of them on our team!)

No problem! Just get in touch with our support team, and they will sort that our for you.

Most of the time, the answer will be 'no'. That's because the class will, typically, move with your child as the children within it progress.

If they are learning at PaddlePod North Tyneside (Shiremoor), and are nearing the end of stage 6, we will be in touch with you to discuss moving to a bigger pool - they will need the extra length when they move up to stage 7.

We may also suggest moving them to a different class is we feel that they would be better suited in another session. We'll always give you as much notice as we can, and discuss this with you before making any changes.

There are two types of instructor changes to consider here. The first is a temporary change if your usual instructor is unwell, or unable to teach for another reason. We try our absolute best to avoid situations like this, but they do arise every now and then. The substitute teacher will be trained to just as high a standard as your swimmer's normal instructor, and they will be able to see on Doddle what your child has been doing in previous lessons.

The other type of instructor change is longer term. This might happen if your usual instructor is heading off on maternity leave, for example. Or of they are leaving SwimNE. Or because there have been changes to our timetable that mean we need to move them elsewhere - we rarely do this, but sometimes it may be necessary. Whatever the reason, we will make sure there is handover, and your new instructor will be able to see all the lesson notes left by your previous teacher.

No - your space will just carry over. Nice and simple, and one less thing to worry about!

Floatation aids are great for supporting children when they are new to swimming lessons. They are also fab at helping more able swimmers to perfect their swimming skills, and to isolate parts of their body so that they can perfect parts of a swimming stroke. In fact, even Olympic swimmers use aids when training - and they certainly aren't just for beginners!

If we are asking your child to use a swimming aid, even when we know that they can swim 100m without one, please be assured that there will be a good reason - and our teaching methods have been very carefully designed to help your child become the best swimmer they can be.