Puddle Ducks are Attachment Friendly

Leading adoption support service, The Centre for Adoption Support has teamed up with national swimming school Puddle Ducks to help train all their teachers in the importance of attachment for children who have been in care.

Puddle Ducks teaches children from birth to 10 years to swim and to love and respect the water. They currently teach to over 18,000 babies, toddlers, pre-school and primary school children across the UK every week and wanted to ensure their teachers are trained to care for children from all backgrounds. They got in touch with the Centre for Adoption Support, who offer a wide range of support and training for adoption and permanency across the North West. They were well equipped to help as in the last 2 years they have delivered attachment training to over 100 schools in the North West and were delighted to work with Puddle Ducks.

Puddle Ducks’ Technical Director Ali Beckman commented: “We worked closely with the Centre’s specialist adoption staff to develop a training module for our staff on the importance of attachment for children who have been in care. This will apply to children who are now in adoptive or fostering placements. The module is now a mandatory part of teacher training and we are proud that all 300 of our swimming teachers have now completed the module”.

Puddle Ducks swimming teacher Sara Joynson said “It was interesting to understand why some children who have spent time in care may display some of the behaviours the training highlighted. It has given me a real insight into how hard it can be for them to adapt and for their new adoptive or foster families and has also provided great tips on how to manage any anxieties or fears children may have in our lessons”.

Delyth Evans, Service Manager at the Centre for Adoption Support commented: “We are delighted that Puddle Ducks has adopted this training. Not only is it fantastic to have over 300 swimming teachers across the UK fully aware of attachment issues for adopted children and children from care, it is also raising awareness of the issue within communities. We continue to work with Puddle Ducks promoting their lessons to our adoptive families”.