Parents can bring their baby to swim at Winterbourne Academy pool from 15 months old.

Our programme is progressive, so you can join at any time of the year. We have Baby & Pre-school classes for 0-4 years and our Swim Academy classes are for children between 4-10 years.

Each of the programmes focuses on nurturing confidence - our teachers know that children develop and learn at different rates, so will adjust each activity to get the best out of each child and encourage positive progression.

There is no Puddle Ducks poolside assistant. However there is a Winterbourne Academy trained lifeguard who will be poolside to assist with any issues or concerns, if they arise.

• If you know that you won't be able to attend before the class takes place, you can let us know via your My Puddle Ducks account on both your Overview page and also your My Children page by clicking on ‘Let us know you can’t attend a lesson’ and following the instructions. This will generate a Courtesy Class for you to then use against any lesson where there is space in the next 6 months (provided you are currently in paid-for lessons). Read more in our Courtesy Classes FAQs.
• If your child has a chest, ear, throat or eye infection they shouldn’t swim until it has completely cleared.
• Please don’t bring your child to the pool during, or for two weeks after, suffering from diarrhoea.
• Going swimming is unlikely to worsen a mild cold and will not increase the likelihood of an ear infection unless your baby has a perforated eardrum.
• Please do not bring your child to a swimming class with anything that could be infectious, such as chickenpox, which is considered infectious until all the blisters have dried up.
• It’s worth remembering that children are often exhausted after an illness and need some time to recuperate before returning to their swimming lessons.
• We can’t offer a refund for missed classes, your payment secures your place in your class and the class takes place as usual if you are unable to attend but this is why we offer Courtesy Classes, because we understand life doesn’t always go to plan with a little one!