What Progress Looks Like in Reception Swimming — and How We Nurture It

In Reception swimming, progress doesn’t always look like a perfect stroke or a distance badge. For our youngest learners at Wellington College International School Bangkok, progress is measured in much more meaningful — and often joyful — ways.

From the moment a child confidently splashes water on their own face, to the first time they willingly submerge under the surface, every small step counts. These aren’t just playful moments — they’re essential aquatic milestones. And we’ve designed a programme that captures, celebrates, and builds on every milestone.

A Curriculum Built for Confidence and Personalised Progress

Reception swimming is all about building water confidence through developmentally appropriate, play-based experiences. We meet each child where they are — emotionally and physically — and guide them toward safe, joyful independence in the water.

Our curriculum focuses on foundational aquatic skills, including but not limited to:

• Full submersion

• Blowing bubbles

• Splashing water on the face and head

• Pushing and gliding

• Floating with or without support

• Understanding pool rules and safety cues

These skills aren’t taught through drills but through carefully scaffolded play and strong relationships with teachers.

To support personalised progress, students are grouped by confidence and ability in the main pool, with a maximum 1:5 ratio. This allows teachers to:

• Provide individualised feedback

• Adapt activities in real time

• Progress each child at their own pace

• Focus on readiness-based transitions such as kicking with floats or moving from floating to standing

Whether a child is just beginning to explore the water or already learning to glide and float independently, our structure ensures they feel safe, supported, and ready to grow.

A Routine That Builds Trust and Flow

Each Reception lesson follows the same clear structure, helping children feel calm, prepared, and safe throughout:

• Whole-class welcome song in the splash pool

• Split into differentiated groups (max 1:5)

• Return to splash pool for whole-class themed game

This flow from familiarity to focused skill-building and back to fun supports confidence, emotional safety, and whole-child development.

Learning Through Stories, Songs & Imaginative Play

From helping Captain Pugwash find lost treasure to searching for Old McDonald’s missing animals, our splash pool games are fully themed to spark imagination and maximise participation. Every game has purpose — not just fun.

The games focus on four specific skills, with a clear target: for all children to confidently and independently submerge and retrieve objects from the bottom of the pool. To make this achievable for every learner, we scaffold the challenge in four progressive stages:

1. Sprinkling and sorting – Children sprinkle water on their heads to show early water confidence. The coach then hands them a sunken object to sort by colour or category — no need to submerge yet.

2. Blowing bubbles – After demonstrating controlled bubble blowing, the coach again hands them a sunken object, reinforcing breath control before attempting submersion.

3. Supported submersion – Children hold the coach’s hand and dip under together to collect the object from the bottom.

4. Independent submersion – The final goal: children confidently dive down and retrieve the object all by themselves.

This step-by-step structure ensures every child experiences success, builds confidence, and progresses safely toward full submersion — all while playing in a themed, story-driven environment.

How We Track and Celebrate Progress

We use a simple but effective system to evidence learning:

• Each skill is introduced and practised, and only marked as achieved once a child can demonstrate it consistently, confidently, and independently

• Observations are made during the lesson and logged directly after each session

• Teachers communicate regularly with families about how their child is developing in the water

We value emotional readiness just as much as physical ability — and that belief is reflected in how we assess.

Final Thoughts

In Reception, swimming progress looks like a growing smile. A child who once clung to the wall now floating with pride. A nervous glance replaced by bubbling laughter. These moments matter — and they lay the foundation for a lifetime of safe, confident swimming.

By combining themed play, structured small-group teaching, and a clear, secure routine, we ensure that every Reception child at Wellington College International School Bangkok is seen, supported, and celebrated — no matter where they start or how far they go.