Flyers Swim School gains national qualification | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

The Flyers Swim School in Stratford has become a quality swim school this month, the only one in South Taranaki and one of only four in Taranaki. There are roughly 200 children aged six months and upwards coming through the swim school each term to learn to swim. The school, organised by Aimee Woodhead, aims to teach all local children water confidence and vital swimming skills.

The school qualified to become a Quality Swim School by passing certain criteria which include knowing first aid, qualified instructors, a safe centre, continued training and more.

New industry standards launched for Learn to Swim Swimming New Zealand (SNZ) has recently launched sweeping new industry standards to ensure Kiwis can learn to swim with confidence.

Until now, there have been no qualifications, criteria or standards for anyone to establish or run a swim school in New Zealand.

With a significant number of schools closing their pools and an increasing demand for swimming lessons, there has been a marked increase in the numbers of swim schools around the country.

SNZ and New Zealand Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (NZSCTA) believe there was a need to establish minimum national industry standards in all areas of swim school operations to give parents confidence that their children are being taught to swim safely using best practice methods.

This initiative has also been endorsed by the New Zealand Recreation Association.

"As more and more children are learning to swim in programmes throughout New Zealand, this is a positive move forward, having agreed national industry standards in place," Swimming New Zealand Education Manager, Ally Todd, said.

"The water is such a key part of the quality of life in New Zealand. When you can swim, the freedom is yours, wherever you are, whoever you are, it is the start of something extraordinary. It's so important that as a nation everyone can swim and therefore have the confidence to enjoy all the wonderful experiences around water in New Zealand. That will allow more New Zealanders to enjoy every facet of the water and also offers the opportunity for more New Zealanders to be more active more often," she said.

"We want every New Zealander to be able to swim and to know that if the swim school carries the Quality Swim School brand, that swim school has met industry-agreed standards including programming, staff training, management, facility and safety. In addition, ongoing auditing procedures ensure standards are maintained."

Sixty-five swim schools from across New Zealand have met Quality Swim School standards.