Teaching & Volunteering

Volunteering

Rushcliffe Swimming Club’s teachers are all volunteers – mostly parents of children at the club who are willing to give up a little time once a week to help keep the club going.

There are a range of things that help keep the club going from the quick & occasional (e.g. helping on the front desk to sign swimmers in once or twice a term) to the more involved (e.g. club treasurer, or teaching)

Please do help! The club needs you, because as children pass through the club, so do supportive parents.

Becoming A Teacher

Rushcliffe Swimming Club’s teachers are all volunteers – mostly parents of children at the club who are willing to give up a little time once a week to help keep the club going. As children grow older and leave the club, so often do the parent teachers.

If you are in any way interested in this, or even just curious, please get in contact with any of the committe on e-mail or as you arrive on a Saturday morning. The pathway to join in is gradual and heavily supported, and if you want to, the club will cover all costs for you to be a fully qualified Level 2 swimming teacher, which you can use to work anywhere in the leisure sector in the UK. The steps of involvement are

  • Ask us! And, have a chat to see what we do on poolside on morning.

  • Shadow an experienced teacher for a while.

  • Gain a Level 1 qualification - About 15 hours of effort.

  • Gain a Level 2 qualification.

We currently have some gaps, and would welcome new volunteers. Please consider whether you would be willing to help out…but before you do, here are a few facts:

    • Rushcliffe Swimming Club will fund the full cost of training for our volunteer teachers.

    • Once qualified, teachers usually take lessons for one hour on a Saturday morning.

    • If you are unable to make a particular week because you are away, other teachers will be able to cover for you, and hopefully you can help them out. We all have other places we have to be sometimes!

    • You do not need to be a competent swimmer to be able to teach swimming – you learn all the information you need from shadowing teachers and from the course. In fact, many people find their own swimming improves as a result! More important is to have a confident and friendly manner with the children.

    • You learn to teach all levels from beginners through to the lanes. There’s normally the opportunity to teach the level you feel happiest with, or move around if you want to build up more experience.

    • Most importantly, our teachers will tell you that teaching swimming is fun and rewarding. To quote one of our teachers 18 months after they started:

“I was apprehensive about volunteering partly because I never had any sort of teaching role before, and partly because I’ve never been a competitive swimmer myself. But once I plucked up the courage to volunteer I found I enjoyed the course, and have really enjoyed the teaching since then. I look forward to Saturday mornings – and with 3 kids in the club it’s nice to feel I’m able to put something back.”

And more recently, another teacher told us:

"My son and I first joined Rushcliffe Swimming Club. It had been recommended to us by a family member. My first impression of the club was it was very welcoming and we soon felt we belonged. As soon as I expressed an interest in becoming an Instructor a mentor was quickly found for me to shadow. She was very inspirational and over the coming months she taught me no end. She encouraged me to take over her class on several occasions. It really helped build up my confidence and prepared me for the training course in June. I am passionate about children learning to swim at an early age, learning and developing their swimming skills. I learnt to swim as an adult and it is an essential life skill.

I am pleased to have become an instructor. I find I am rewarded as much as the children.

I feel my contribution is really valued, as the club is short of qualified instructors."

If you are interested in volunteering, or just finding out more, please speak to any of our teachers or the committee member on duty.

Thank you

Your Swimming Club Committee and Teachers.