Junior Strokes Swimming Instruction

Aimed at children of school age who can follow instructions.

Junior Strokes is divided into carefully-designed stages, all in line with the National Curriculum for Physical Education.

Parents can follow their child’s development through the Strokes Progression Folder – this provides the perfect place for children to store certificates they earn as they complete each stage successfully. These can be purchased from your local pool.

Children start off in shallow water and begin to develop the recognised strokes – front crawl, back crawl, breast stroke, and later, butterfly.

Progression through a series of levels in Junior Strokes will help children build their confidence, swim in deep water, develop their technique and improve their stamina. Distances can be achieved at any stage.

Children develop their progress through 10 stages (2 stages for each level):

• Happy Strokes
• Starter Strokes
• Main Strokes
• Correct Strokes
• Supreme Strokes

Children need to have reached a certain standard before they are able to join each of the levels:

Children start off in shallow water and begin to develop the recognised strokes – front crawl, back crawl, breast stroke, and later, butterfly, before they learn to swim in deep water and develop their technique.

• Happy Strokes
Ideal for: non-swimmers of school age who can follow instructions.

• Starter Strokes
Ideal for: children who can swim 10 metres on their front and back without armbands.

• Main Strokes
Ideal for: children who can swim 25 metres front and back crawl and 5 metres breast stroke and are confident in deep water.

• Correct Strokes
Ideal for: children who are able to swim 50 metres front and back crawl and 25 metres breast stroke.

• Supreme Strokes
Ideal for: children who can swim 100 metres front and back crawl and 50 metres breast stroke.

Please note: Because awards are based on water skills, children do not automatically move up a level each time they achieve an award. Progression to the next level is dependent on the child’s swimming ability and confidence in deeper water and is at the discretion of the teacher.

Register an interest

You can register an interest in a Strokes course by telephoning your chosen pool.