Swim lessons for kids

The need for better water safety has seen instructor Vanessa Palmer create a structured training programme for children.

The school holiday programme runs for two weeks starting next Monday and has four different levels, from beginners in water safety to advanced swimmers.

Each of the four levels will receive 30 minutes of guidance on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to ensure children between the ages of four and 12 have a chance to improve their water safety skills progressively.

“I’ve been doing some private lessons anyway and I just see the need for it, basically,” Palmer said.

“There’s a big difference for a kid being confident in the water and being able to swim.”

Three classes per week will see participants learn basic swimming skills such as floating, swimming and learning how to recognise when others are in trouble on the water.

“It ranges from learning how to swim, swimmers doing distances and advanced groups where we’ll try and get them swimming more.”

The elite athlete and secondary physical education teacher said there was an option for a one-week course in the hope kids will have a chance to improve their swimming skills.

“A lot of the kids on the island don’t know how to swim and we’re surrounded by water.”

The final day of the programme will be a fun day and with a prizegiving and sausage sizzle.

Parents and caregivers can contact Palmer by emailing her on ness_palmer@hotmail.com or by phoning 58041.