Katie has been a teacher with Puddle Ducks Mid Cheshire for 4 years. This is an example of an average day for her.
“I’m at the pool setting up for the first class of the day while my husband and 3-year-old daughter have a lovely lie in (she never stays in bed past 6:30am for me!) My first class is Dippers. I love Dippers – they have so much fun and are so confident. They all sit poolside full of enthusiasm and desperate to share all their latest news; a new pair of goggles, or plans to go to a party! This shows that they have accepted me as an important figure in their lives, which as a teacher, means I know that I can get the best out of them. Today there’s an opportunity for them to try for their 5m award and I am fairly sure that one of my swimmers will achieve it. When he does, it’s a very emotional moment. After cheering and congratulating him, I have to take a moment to compose myself and blink back the tears! He was one of my most nervous swimmers and he’s come such a long way - this is easily one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
Next, it’s two Little Dippers classes back to back. It can be a challenging programme to teach, but I love it as it’s where you see the most progress; seeing a nervous 2-year-old blossom into a confident swimmer ready for the next stage. These two classes are very different; the first has a lot of quite nervous children in it, so the pace is slightly gentler and we work a lot on confidence whilst the second group is more confident so there’s a lot more noise, splashing and really big jumps! Finally, I have a Kickers class which is always lots of fun! It’s seriously splashy today, with lots and lots of laughter. Cowboy rides have been my favourite activity since I first did it with my daughter. It’s easy to keep the energy levels high as you feed off the enthusiasm of the children around you. Once all the lessons have finished it’s time to pack up and make my way home in time for lunch, with the afternoon free to spend with my family. I am grinning from ear to ear for the rest of the day – this job gives you such a massive high, today more so than usual after witnessing a 5m swim. Once my daughter is in bed I plan the next day’s lessons, ready to do it all over again. I already can’t wait to get back in the water!”
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Our teachers are right at the centre of what we do at Puddle Ducks. Our business is totally dependent upon having the best teachers, where commitment, passion, loyalty and the ability to create a good rapport with parents/carers, babies and children are all absolutely essential.
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