Diving

Contact your Leisure Centre of choice (Aireborough or John Charles Centre for Sport) If your child is a complete beginner they can book into a Learn to Dive Beginner class.

If your child is transferring from another diving lesson provider who runs the Swim England Learn to Dive Pathway then they can book into the same class they were in previously.

If your child is transferring from another diving lesson provider who doesn’t run the Swim England Learn to Dive Pathway then you will need to book a diving assessment.

Once your child is booked into a class then they stay in that class until they have successfully completed all outcomes.

Children are continually assessed and they move classes when they are ready.

Payments for diving lessons is by Direct Debit.

​This will vary with every diver depending on their skills and experience.

Some children are more naturally competent and confident performing skills into deep water and therefore will progress faster. 

Other children are slower to learn new skills but can quite often become stronger and more proficient divers as they progress. 

At each stage of the pathway all of the skills are crucial and must be easily achieved prior to moving onto the next stage.

For example if a diver does not accomplish a skill such as a back push and glide with a circle the achievement of skills such as crouching back dive or standing back dive will become difficult to perform effectively. 

The most important factor is that every child learn new diving skills, enjoys their lessons and enjoys diving.

Your child should not become disheartened if they progress at a different rate to other children in their lesson, and you and their diving teacher will play a key role in keeping them motivated.

​The lessons are led by a Swim England qualified diving teacher and each class should include up to a maximum of 12 divers.

The teacher will look to provide a variety of different fun-based activities to help the divers learn new skills.

Throughout the lesson the teacher will provide feedback and instruction to help each individual diver develop.

Some divers may be given slightly different activities depending on their strengths and weaknesses to help them focus on their individual needs.

As the lessons progress the diving teacher will record progress made against the skill outlined above for the relevant diving award.

When a diver is able to complete all the skills consistently they will be awarded the diving award certificate/badge and move onto the next diving award.

If you are starting diving lessons at a new centre then we strongly recommend you familiarise your child with the pool environment – family trips to the swimming pool are a great way to do this.

It’s beneficial to talk through what your child should expect when they are due to start lessons and explain who their class teacher will be, if possible.

It is not advised to swim or dive on a full stomach so try to encourage your child not to eat in the hour before their lesson.

However, some children may come straight from school and may need a small snack to maintain energy levels.

We recommend your child showers after getting changed for their lesson and also visits the toilet so they don’t have to miss any of their lesson.

When completing your booking form you should advise the pool of any medical conditions, injuries or special needs your child may have. Examples may include asthma, epilepsy, sight or hearing impairment or learning disabilities.

Your child only needs a swimming costume and towel. We recommend a tightly fitted swimming costume or swim trunks, which don’t absorb water. “Board” or “Bermuda” shorts are not ideal for diving lessons. The pool provides any diving equipment your child will need.

Your child will not be allowed to dive with swimming goggles on due to a risk of injury being caused around the child’s eyes when entering the water from 1m of height or above. They will probably also fill with water or sink to the bottom of the deep pool.

For children with long hair we recommend for it to be tied back to prevent it getting into their face or mouth. It’s often a good idea to involve your child in what they need for their diving lesson so they know to expect when they get to the pool.

kit bag suggestions:

-Swimming Costume

-Towel

-Shampoo and shower gel

-Hair bands

-Locker money or token

​No, photography and filming isn’t allowed in or around the swimming pool area. 

As you may be aware taking photographs of children is a sensitive issue and we have a procedure to deal with this.

Because there’s guarantee of other children appearing in your photograph we can’t allow the use of any photographic equipment in or around the pool area.