Find the answers to the Institute of Swimming frequently asked questions:
To become a swimming teacher there are two qualifications for you to gain.
The SEQ Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) course is the first step and it allows you to support a Level 2 swimming teacher as a swimming assistant. We recommend gaining at least 3 months of experience as a swimming assistant before starting your SEQ Level 2 Teaching Swimming course. On completion of the Level 2 Teaching Swimming course, you will be a qualified Swimming Teacher and will be able to plan and teach swimming lessons.
There are a number of different ways this course can be completed including online e-learning, online zoom sessions or face to face at a venue.
Please note we advise you do not book the Level 1 and Level 2 consecutively. If you’re looking to do both qualifications together, we offer the Combined SEQ Level 1 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) and Level 2 Teaching Swimming
To book a course: set-up a profile on www.swimming.org/ios where you can find all our courses and book online via card payment. Bookings need to be completed in the profile of the candidate attending the course.
We run courses in coaching swimming, water polo, diving and artistic swimming. To become a swimming coach there are two certificates for you to gain.
The Swim England Assistant Coach course is the first step. Once qualified you can assist a Swim England Coach.
To progress onto Swim England Coach, you will need to complete at least 3 months of experience as a Swim England Assistant Coach before booking onto the Swim England Coach course.
To book you can set-up a profile on www.swimming.org/ios where you can find all our courses and book online via card payment. Bookings need to be completed in the profile of the candidate attending the course.
You must be 16 years old on the start date of your course. Our teaching qualifications are awarded by the Swim England Qualifications and we are very much governed by them in terms of age restrictions on courses. We are required to adhere to their rules and they are very strict with regards to the prerequisites for courses, age being one of these, and unfortunately, the Institute of Swimming have very little leverage on this.
You must be 16 years old on the start date of your course. If your 16th birthday is within 3 months of the course start date we would be able to put a request through to the awarding body for you to attend the course provided they are in agreement.
Please could you provide details of your mentor at the club, how long you have been assisting for (or any other relevant role in the club), and any other information you feel is relevant. This information will then be passed through to the awarding body and we will need confirmation of acceptance in order for you to attend.
Please note your certificate will not be issued until such time as you reach the required pre-requisite age.
You must be 18 years old on the start date of your course.
How old do you have to be to book a pool plant course?
I am pregnant, can I still participate in a teaching/ coaching course?
New and expectant mothers should always seek medical advice regarding their suitability to attend an Institute of Swimming course prior to enrolment, please email [email protected] for further guidance.
Please note that you will have 12 months to complete both the theory and practical elements of the course from the date the course starts.
I wish to request a refund, how do I go about doing this?
If you are paying by card you need to create an account on swimming.org.
The account needs to be in the name of the learner and once the account has been created you can search and book for the course you wish to attend via our website.
If your company are paying for the course there are two options
Option 1:
If your company are paying for the course and wish to pay via invoice they need to purchase a voucher code by logging into the company’s profile on the Institute of Swimming website. They can then assign this voucher code to you so that you can use this as payment on the course. Further details on how to purchase vouchers are on our voucher website support page.
If the company is not set up on the system the key contact needs to create a personal account online at swimming.org
Once this has been created they need to complete the company activation form
Your company will be notified by email once this is ready to use.
Option 2:
If your company wish to pay by card the learner attending the course needs create an account on swimming.org. When logged into this account you can search and book for the course you wish to attend via our website.
The card holder cannot book on in their name and have the booking transferred over into the learner attending the course. The account used for the booking needs to be in the name of the learner who is attending the course.
Please login to your profile on www.swimming.org/ios. If you log in via www.swimming.org, please click ‘Institute of Swimming’ in the grey menu bar top of the web page.
Top right of the homepage, click ‘profile.’
On the left-side menu in your profile click ‘vouchers.’
On the respective voucher in question, click on the pink button on the right-hand side. This will read as ‘find a course’ or ‘view course.’
On the course booking page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘book place,’ followed by ‘checkout.’
On the next page loaded, click ‘apply voucher’ at the bottom in the middle of the page and ‘apply’ again to change the basket value.
Continue through the checkout pages till complete with a unique SBP reference number.
Following the completion of your course, it will take up to 3 weeks for your certificate to be issued and a record of the qualification to be added to your membership record.
I have completed my pool plant operator course, when do I receive a certificate?
Certificates are available to download from your RLSS UK tahdah account, to register for your tahdah account, follow these instructions:
Step 1- Visit https://rlssuk.tahdah.me/account/registernew
Step 2- Enter your RLSS UK Society Number (please contact RLSS UK if you don’t know this), First Name, Last Name, Email Address and Date Of Birth. Or you can obtain this number from any previous certificates you may have received, your RLSS UK Society Number usually starts with a 3.
Step 3- Check and agree to both sets of Terms and Conditions, click Next.
Step 4- Create a Username and Password, click Next.
Step 5- To verify your email, visit your inbox and look for an email from ‘Royal Life Saving Society UK [email protected]’ and in the body of the email Click to confirm your email. If you can’t see the email please check your junk box.
Step 6- You can now log in to your account using your Username and Password that you created in Step 4.
This tutorial should help you to find your certificate.
If you are still unable to access your certificate following these instructions, if you contact RLSS directly on [email protected] they should be able to assist you further.
If you have completed our online revalidation programme please ensure you send a copy of your current pool plant operators certificate to [email protected] . Without a copy of this we will be unable to process your results to the awarding body for certification.
If you need a replacement certificate you will need to contact the relevant awarding body on:
SEQ – https://swimenglandqualifications.com/contact/
Swim England (coaching) – [email protected]
RLSS – [email protected]
In order to attend one of our courses, you need to be able to attend all of the sessions listed on the course booking page. If you are unable to do this you would need to transfer to another course that you can attend fully. This may incur a fee depending on the situation, against our terms and conditions.
With our Zoom sessions we do record the sessions for verification, training and quality purposes, but because our sessions are very interactive, the CPDs and qualifications involve group work, interaction and learners engaging with each other in their learning environment, we do not share these. There is also a large number of blank minutes on the recording due to breakout activity. Therefore, all of the sessions must be attended to ensure full engagement and assessment completion.
A Level 2 swimming teacher is able to teach swimming lessons from stages 1-7 of the Swim England Learn to Swim Framework.
Our coaching disciplines are swimming, diving, open water and artistic. Being a Swim England Coach will allow you to coach athletes at all levels.