Developed with science, taught with passion

Our Water Babies world, Oceans of Imagination, is an immersive swimming experience where little ones learn a skill for life. You’ll be guided by our team of Swimvincibles, on your own, individual swimming adventure, tailored to your needs. Every water baby will join one of our swimming superheroes, The Swimvincibles, in their Team. They’ll work towards progressing key swimming skills and collecting Water Babies Treasures along the way, with their Swimvincible Team member leading the way. This includes everything from badges and stickers to certificates, highlighting your little one’s achievements as they travel through our programme.

The Swimvincibles are a team of swimming superstars, who head up our swim Teams at Water Babies. They’ll inspire and guide your little one through their swimming journey with us. Starting with Pearl for our new baby classes through to Saffi, Echo, Sculli, and finally Finn, as you head for independent swimming!

A Team represents where your little one is in their swimming journey with Water Babies, with our littlest water babies starting with Team Pearl, and our big water babies swimming in Team Finn.

You’re a ‘Swimvincible in training’ from your very first lesson. There are five Swimvincible Teams in total, and you’ll progress through a team in a year.

A massive sense of pride and an amazing Swimvincible cloth badge as a forever keepsake of your swimming journey with us.

Mystery Island weeks are a chance to have extra fun and let imaginations run wild!  We have few sprinkled through the year as special events in class, with a chance to wear fancy dress and get involved in a themed lessons such as our bi-annual ‘Splashathon’ charity week.

Water Babies badges are awarded at special celebratory Island badge weeks planned into our swimming calendar. There are three spread out evenly throughout each swimming year, which are collected on the way to achieving each Team Swimvincible badge.

You get four Water Babies badges per year! There are three Island badges (Cloudfish Cove, Lighthouse Lagoon and Floating Forest) spread out evenly throughout a swimming year, which are collected on the way to achieving each Team Swimvincible badge.

They will appear in your ‘My Water Babies’ account and your teacher will let you know when an Island week is approaching.

Each Water Babies Island badge relates to the skills you’ll have been learning and working towards in your lessons. The badge week will highlight and celebrate your little ones efforts, progression, and development as a class.

It will depend on when you join us, as there are set Island celebrations planned for the year! These are spread out evenly throughout a swimming year, so they’re never too far away. There are also stickers and certificates awarded along your journey, so lots to look forward and add to your Water Babies Treasures collection.

Yes! If you joined after a specific badge week but would like to collect the badge to complete your set, you can purchase any missing from your local office.

The specific Team Swimvincible badge is awarded at around week 40 of your swimming journey, as you complete the Team and are ready to move onto the next one.

There are 20 Water Babies badges to collect across our whole programme – 3 Island badges and a Swimvincible badge for each Team and 5 Teams in total to complete.

All our Water Babies offices do badges! If you haven’t received one please contact your local team who will be able to help.

Water Babies Badges are awarded as you go through the programme, but you can buy any from an earlier stage if you didn’t join us at the start of Team Pearl – just ask your local office.

Just contact your local office – any badges awarded before you joined us won’t be activated on your ‘My Water Babies’ account, but you can still buy them to complete the set!

Badge week is a chance to celebrate all your swimmer has been learning and working towards in the pool with your whole class. There are three Island badge weeks (Cloudfish Cove, Lighthouse Lagoon and Floating Forest) spread out evenly throughout each swimming year, as a chance to reflect on progress and development for each island’s set of swimming skills. You’ll leave the class with a sense of pride and an amazing cloth badge to add to your collection of treasures!

No! The Water Babies Treasures awarded to you, as you make your way through the Teams with the Swimvincibles, are all part of the journey. You are able to purchase any which may have been awarded prior to you joining us. The Swim England Awards will also be available to purchase directly from their website when you’re eligible to order, which your local office will help you with.

Water Babies is the world’s leading baby and toddler swimming school, teaching over 40,000 little ones a week the lifesaving skill of learning to swim. Aimed at families of all shapes, sizes and blends who want to give the children in their lives the best start in life, Water Babies takes each child on a journey of aquatic discovery, adventure and purposeful play. We advocate holistic learning through creating water quests and adventures tailored to every stage, prioritising child personal development, and nurturing every little mind, body and soul through swimming. We’ll support you and your little one’s unique swimming journey, helping to build water confidence and safety in a creative and imaginative way.

We’ll find you a class in the Team which is most appropriate to your child’s age and experience. All our new babies will join Team Pearl. But if you’re joining us with a toddler or pre-schooler, you could join in Team Saffi, Team Echo, Team Sculli, or even Team Finn. It’s about getting you settled with similar age class mates and skills which will be at the right development stage for your little water baby. 

You can track all lesson progress, Treasures, Skills, and Awards in your personal ‘My Water Babies’ portal. If you’re in Team Pearl, skills will be marked off as they are taught through the first 40 weeks and are activated by attendance. As you progress through the higher Teams, from Saffi to Finn, your swimmers progress will be measured by their teacher against specific skills, which will be reflected in a progress bar on each skill in your ‘My Water Babies’ portal.

In Team Pearl, progress is based on skills taught in lessons. As key skills are taught, they will be awarded on the Skills tab on your ‘My Water Babies’ account. Progress in Team Saffi through to Team Finn is measured by your teacher, based on achieving specific skills. You’ll see the progress against each skill you’re working towards shown in a bar beneath the skill icon. 

That’s no problem, these things happen. Skills will be updated once you return to your lesson.

These are nationally recognised awards from Swim England, the UK’s National Governing Body for Swimming, which sit alongside our own Water Babies Treasures.  They have specific outcomes and progress against these and will be measured by your teacher once you’re in Team Saffi and above. There is a separate tab on your ‘My Water Babies’ account for these awards. When your little one achieves one, you will receive an email to let you know! You’ll then be able to purchase the relevant badge and certificate direct with Swim England, with the help of your local office.

Your local office can give you advice on the next steps in your swimming journey.

We understand every child develops and learns at their own pace. Water Babies teachers are trained to teach what’s in front of them, and will work with you and your little one to help achieve skills in their own time. Not achieving a particular skill won’t affect your child’s ability to be rewarded for their individual progress and be awarded with their badges.

Water is a leveller, a place where everyone can flourish and have fun in a non-competitive environment. Swimming has a whole range of benefits for babies and toddlers with disabilities and learning difficulties, and at Water Babies, we welcome all little ones to swim with us. Our teachers are trained to teach every baby and toddler as an individual, and at their own pace. When booking on to your lesson, just speak to your local office about any additional support which might be needed for your little one to help them in their swimming journey. Your teacher will then be on hand to help you and provide you with this support in lessons.