Parents can bring their newborn as soon as they feel ready - our youngest Puddle Duck was just over a week old! We advise to allow the umbilical cord to have healed over to avoid infection, but you don't need to wait until your baby has had their jabs.

We find that babies - as they have spent 9 months in their own watery world - have a natural affinity in our carefully selected, warm pools.

Our programme is progressive, so you can join at any time. Your child can come to Puddle Ducks at any age between 0-10 years. We have Baby & Pre-school classes for 0-4 and our Swim Academy for primary school aged children up to 10.

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.

If your child is in Floaties, Splashers, Kickers, Little Dippers, Dippers or Dabblers in our Baby & Pre-school programme then yes, you will be in the water with them throughout the lesson, these sessions provide a fabulous bonding experience between you and your child and is all about building their water confidence.

If your child is in any of our Swim Academy classes (i.e. they are in primary school) they will be in the water on their own, with two teachers in the water and a ratio of 1 teacher:4 children. If the pool allows spectators, you will be able to watch from poolside.

• 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.