The Institute of Swimming partners with leisure operators across North Yorkshire to solve local swimming teacher crisis

Leisure operators across North Yorkshire have teamed up with the Institute of Swimming to launch a Swimming Teachers Academy in the area to address the shortage of teachers, which means local children are missing out on learning to swim.

Leisure operators, Brimhams Active, Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles, Craven District Council, Richmondshire Leisure Trust and Hambleton District Council are committed to ensuring that every child in the region has the opportunity to learn this life saving skill. However, this is only possible if there are enough qualified swimming teachers.

The training Academy hopes to address the stark warning from the national governing body, Swim England, that across England half a million children are currently missing out on learning to swim due to staff shortages exacerbated by Brexit and the pandemic.  In North Yorkshire it’s estimated that more than 2,500 children are currently on waiting lists for swimming lessons. The Institute of Swimming estimates that 30 new swimming teachers in North Yorkshire could create capacity for an additional 5760 children to learn to swim each week.

The Academy will offer local people the chance to retrain and embark on a career as a swimming teacher for just £79 – a fraction of the usual £1000 training cost. There are no educational restrictions to entering the training, and you don’t need to be an expert swimmer either.

The leisure operators are looking to train and recruit 30 swimming teachers to cover a variety of hours and sessions throughout the district. These include both full time contracts and part time hours. Being a swimming teacher offers flexible work that might suit someone who is looking for additional income, students and the retired. The key hours of work are often in the afternoon and at weekends.

Natalie McGuire, Director of Business Development, Brimhams Active says: “There is no limit on the number of teachers that could be used across the district to support an ever growing list of children and adults wanting to learn to swim, develop their current skills or access the water for their own health and wellbeing. An increase in our swimmer teacher workforce across our pools will allow us to expand our Learn to Swim provision, meet waiting list demands and cover staff sickness and holidays.”

Ben Walker, Head of Leisure Operations – Selby District, Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles says: “By offering funded training opportunities through the recruitment academy, we aim to find people who might be looking for a new job. Teaching swimming is extremely rewarding, with Swim England data showing that 96% of UK swimming teachers love their job. We are looking to attract new people into the sector who may not have considered teaching swimming as a career opportunity.”

The Academy gives people the chance to become a swimming teacher for just £79 and takes them through the Swim England Level One Swimming Assistant (Teaching) Course and Level Two Teaching Swimming Qualification. The usual cost of these two courses is £1000.  In addition to the training, applicants will need to volunteer for 20 hours to give them pool side experience.