Most parents in Barnet can tell you which stage their child is on. Far fewer can tell you what that stage actually means, what comes next, or why the same badge has been "nearly there" for two terms. The stage system is rarely explained at the poolside.
This guide sets out the Swim England learn to swim stages explained in plain terms: what each part of the programme is for, where children commonly get stuck, and what you can do about it.
How the Swim England programme is structured
Most swimming lessons in England, including at council and leisure centre pools across North London, follow the Swim England Learn to Swim Programme. It is built from three frameworks that run one after another:
- Pre-School. The Pre-School Framework includes the Duckling awards. Swim England describes it as promoting early water confidence and basic motor skills, and it underpins what follows.
- Stages 1 to 7. The Learn to Swim Framework is the core of the programme, aimed at children from roughly four to eleven.
- Stages 8 to 10. The Aquatic Skills Framework is where children who have the fundamentals start to specialise.
Each stage has a fixed list of outcomes. To be awarded a stage, a child has to complete every outcome on that list, not most of them. That single rule explains a great deal of the frustration parents feel, and we will come back to it.
Stages 1 to 3: confidence, floating and moving without help
The first three stages are about becoming comfortable and independent in the water.
Stage 1 covers getting in and out safely, moving short distances with feet on or off the floor, getting the face wet, floating, gliding from the wall and knowing a couple of pool rules. Armbands and floats are allowed throughout this stage.
Stage 2 is the first real step towards swimming. Children blow bubbles, float and stand up unaided, roll and tuck between front and back, and travel a short distance with a recognised leg kick. Crucially, that travel has to be done without flotation equipment.
Stage 3 asks for jumping in and going under, picking an object up from the floor, gliding and rolling, travelling 10 metres on the front and back, and getting out without the steps. It also introduces simple water safety messages.
Stages 4 to 7: from moving to swimming properly
From Stage 4 the focus moves from confidence to technique. Swim England notes that Stages 4 to 7 generally take children longer to achieve than Stages 1 to 3.
Stage 4 introduces the leg kicks for all four strokes, sculling, and a short continuous swim. Stage 5 adds treading water, jumps into deep water, short distances of each stroke including butterfly, and a few skills such as a handstand and a forward somersault. Stage 6 is about breathing rhythmically within each stroke, swimming 25 metres to a proper standard, swimming in clothes, a surface dive and a basic "shout and signal" rescue.
Stage 7 is the last of the core stages. Its outcomes include 25 metres of each of the four strokes, a 50 metre continuous swim, a 100 metre swim using at least three strokes, treading water with an eggbeater kick, a sitting dive or dive, and a short group sequence. A child who finishes Stage 7 is a genuinely competent swimmer.
Stages 8 to 10: the aquatic pathway
Once Stage 7 is done, Stages 8 to 10 let children develop sport-specific skills in one of four disciplines: swimming, diving, artistic swimming or water polo. In the swimming route, the work shifts towards turns, longer sets and consistent technique over distance. This is also the natural bridge into club swimming, where Swim England’s club awards carry on from here.
Not every child needs this route. Stopping at Stage 7, safe and happy, is a perfectly good outcome.
Why children plateau at Stages 3 to 5 and Stage 7
In our experience, the long waits cluster in a few places, and the reasons are usually predictable.
Stage 3 is often the first time a child must go fully under and push away from the wall with no support. A child who is still slightly anxious about their face being in the water can do almost everything else on the list and still not pass.
Stages 4 and 5 demand coordination: four different leg kicks, sculling, treading water and deep-water jumps. Breaststroke kick in particular is a timing and ankle-position skill that some children take a long time to find.
Stage 7 asks for butterfly, distance and a dive together. Each of those can hold a child back on its own, and all ten outcomes must be met.
The bigger cause, though, is time in the water. In a typical group lesson a child may spend a large share of the session waiting at the wall while others take their turn. Small faults go unnoticed for weeks, and practice reinforces the habit rather than fixing it.
How long progress takes
We will not give you a timetable, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Swim England itself says the time it takes to pass each stage varies with every swimmer. Age, confidence, how often your child swims, what happened at a previous pool and how well a particular skill clicks all play a part. A child can fly through two stages and then spend a long while on the next. That is normal.
What parents can do to help
- Swim together outside lessons. Short, relaxed family swims build comfort far faster than a lesson alone. Play, do not coach. Our piece on being the parent, not the coach explains why.
- Ask the teacher which outcomes are missing. Since every outcome must be met, knowing the one or two that are holding things back changes the whole conversation.
- Keep lessons consistent. Long gaps over holidays often cost more progress than parents expect.
- Praise effort, not badges. Children who feel pressure about a certificate often tense up, and tension is the enemy of floating and breathing.
- Do not forget water safety. Stages also teach safety messages, and schools now have a bigger role here too. Our guide to the new water safety framework in schools covers what is changing.
When 1-to-1 or small-group lessons help
Group lessons suit many children well. But if your child has been stuck on the same stage for more than a couple of terms, is nervous, or needs one specific skill fixed, more individual time can make a real difference. In a private swimming lesson the coach watches every length, corrects faults as they happen, and can spend a whole session on the one outcome that is missing.
At Swimming Class UK we teach children in a warm, private pool in Arkley, and we use the same stage outcomes as a reference so you always know where your child stands. If you are looking for children’s swimming lessons in Barnet, or your child is just starting out and you want to learn to swim in Barnet with proper attention from the first session, get in touch and tell us which stage they are on.
