YOUNGSTERS are going quackers for fun filled swimming lessons with a difference.
They learn how to tread water, lifesaving skills and can turn up in their pyjamas.
The lessons by Puddle Ducks North Hampshire and Reading also have a serious message. The summer months, especially during school holidays, are when deaths by drowning hit their peak. In the UK, the latest statistics from the Water Incident Database show there were 226 accidental fatalities in 2022, 105 of them during June, July and August.
Puddle Ducks, which teaches children from birth to age 10, aims to promote the importance of water safety across the local community.
Jo Gribben, owner of Puddle Ducks North Hampshire and Reading said: “Our Pyjama Week is always really popular, wearing your favourite pyjamas, jumping in the water and completing activities is a novelty all children enjoy, and a memory that will stay with them.
“Allowing children to experience what it feels like to be submerged in water fully clothed will help them if they ever find themselves in trouble in the water.”
Jo stressed the importance of educating children so they feel confident in water, not only to enjoy swimming, but also to know what to do should something go wrong.
“We teach a number of personal survival and lifesaving skills in our classes, including learning to jump in, resurface and swim back to a point of safety, blowing bubbles on the water then rotating and kicking away, falling off the float and returning to a point of safety, even treading water.
“With summer being a time of year children spend more time around water whether that’s on holiday or at home, as a swim school we’re passionate about educating the children across our community.”
All Puddle Ducks teachers are STA qualified and focus on creating a nurturing environment, which supports independent swimming for children of all abilities.
For more information about Puddle Ducks North Hampshire and Reading, call 01257 262622 or visit www.puddleducks.com/nh
