AquaJems

pools in Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Selly Oak, Edgbaston and Oldbury. Lessons run 6 days a week

We are a small swimming school, expanding our services in 2017. Our primary aim is to subscribe as much as possible to a holistic ethos, where we hope to provide a welcoming, relaxed environment in which babies can experience the benefits of the water. Once born join us for Aqua Splashers (a series of baby classes up to approximately 15-18 months), Aqua Movers (toddler sessions progressing to preschool lessons), and Aqua Strokes our fully supported learn to swim program. At an Aqua Jems session you will never feel like you are on a production line, with class after class. Our staff specialise in teaching babies and young children in a sensitive manner ensuring regardless of ability or age that every child's emotional needs are catered for right from day one. Our aims and ethos are demonstrated well with the example of our Aqua Splashers classes. By applying the Birthlight© principles and methods which include promoting awareness, respect, providing a deeper understanding of ourselves and our relationships with our children in a kind, gentle, loving and effective nature this allows parents and babies to relax, share the enjoyment of the movements in the classes and their baby’s exploration of the water and their journey to independence. Often parents’ personal anxieties towards the water and their children can be a strong barrier to progression. Establishing this relationship of trust provides a strong bond that ensures a healthy deep-rooted foundation for future physical and emotional stability for the child. This unique approach helps to ensure parents and swimmers who start with Aqua Jems stay with Aqua Jems, often introducing friends and relatives to our classes. The key elements to this approach are:
Luxurious 33°C water temperature within high specification facilities. We find cold water is often a major barrier to enjoyment of baby swimming in particular. As 32°C is the recommended temperature for young and very small babies we only use pools that achieve this standard routinely. Babies are happy, parents are happy and therefore we are happy!! Maximum teacher to swimmer ratio of 1 to 4 in Aqua Strokes and Aqua Movers classes where parents are out of the water. Teacher to baby and parent ratio of 1 to 8 in Aqua Splashers and Aqua Movers classes where parents are in the water. We find these ratios offer each child more attention from our staff and ensures every child is provided with more teaching points increasing their level of progress including rate of stroke development. Instead of the traditional swim teacher standing on the side and taking a more authoritative position, which can seem imposing, particularly to younger and less confident swimmers or swimmers with distinctive emotional needs. From this position staff are more able to be supportive and effective in correcting errors in body position or stroke and we find less confident swimmers advance quicker. Every Aqua Movers and Aqua Strokes lesson is delivered based on the specific areas that each individual child needs to improve on. Rather than a schedule of delivery e.g Week 1 front crawl, Week 2 backstroke, Week 3 breaststroke etc. Aqua Jems staff find that this baby and child centred approach accelerates the swimmers progress and produces pupils of a very high standard at a young age. Babies are NEVER forced to submerge as parents are taught to get to know their child and wait for them to be ready.