Swimming lessons
[5] There is an essential difference between the new infant swimming lessons and the traditional parent-child water play sessions.
Unlike traditional parent/toddler classes, which encourage the child's face in the water through blowing bubbles, infant swimming lessons instill in the child the skills to regain buoyancy from a submerged state and to tilt the head back, getting it out of the water to take breaths and cry for help.
The Department for Education in England includes learning to swim as a compulsory element in primary school PE curriculum.
According to the department's website, at the end of year 6 (age 11), all children "should be taught to...swim 25 metres" (front and back) and demonstrate an understanding of water safety.
[8] In Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, the curriculum for 11-year-olds in the fifth grade states that all children should learn how to swim as well as how to handle emergencies near water.
Even though about 95 percent of Swedish schoolchildren know how to swim, drowning remains the third-most common cause of death among children.
In recent years however, most Dutch towns have abolished school swimming in order to cut expenses.
In Switzerland most schools offer a swimming course, though only 70% of the students take part in it, which has led to the Schulschwimmen für alle petition in 2007.
Unlike in Germany and Austria, the Swiss school swimming test commonly includes a jump from the diving tower.
[11] In England, the "Top-ups scheme" calls for those schoolchildren who cannot swim by the age of 11 to receive intensive daily lessons.
These children who have not reached the National Curriculum standard of swimming 25 metres (27 yards) by the time they leave primary school will be given a half-hour lesson every day for two weeks during term-time.
Similar to the system set out by the American Red Cross, the Swim Kids program for school-aged children consists of ten levels that progress from basic confidence-building skills to more complicated strokes and techniques.
Additional programs following the same structure at a faster pace are also available for teenagers and adults who wish to learn how to swim safely and build confidence in the water.
Lifeguard certificates are defined separately by each organization; the entry level is Junior-Retter (junior rescuer) at the DLRG (the largest aquatics life saving organization in the world) and Juniorwasserretter (junior water rescuer) at the Wasserwacht (water rescue branch of the German Red Cross).
Extended Lifeguard certificate grades can be obtained at three levels of the Rettungsschwimmabzeichen (rescue swimming badge) in bronze, silver, and gold.
The Entry level has six tests: Ente (duck), Schwan (swan), Seehund (sea lion), Nilpferd (hippo), Schildkröte (turtle), and Biber (beaver).
The Basic level has seven tests: Krebs (crab), Seepferd (seahorse), Frosch (frog), Pinguin (penguin), Tintenfisch (cuttlefish), Krokodil (crocodile), and Eisbär (polar bear).
Recognised by employers for their quality, Swim England consistently remain the preferred choice of over 80% of swimming teachers in England and Wales* [Ofqual statistics 2012-17] The STA also teaches about life-saving techniques in their lessons which the ASA offer as a separate course in conjunction with the Royal Life Saving Society.
In particular, pupils should be taught to: swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres use a range of strokes effectively [for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke] perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
