Baby Water Safety - Starfish Series

The STARFISH Awards

This is a flexible progressive and fun series that introduces babies from 6 weeks old and up to two years, to the pool.

The STARFISH Series focuses on creating fun, positive experiences for babies that will not only help them to develop physically but also emotionally, intellectually and socially too, while equipping them with key safety and safe hold skills in the water.

It allows parents to feel assured that they are giving their children valuable skills for a lifetime’s successful and safe swimming enjoyment of the aquatic environment.

The STARFISH Series consists of 6 progressive levels; each with its own full-colour A4 certificate and woven badge.

Once children have successfully completed the STARFISH Series they can progress onto the First Steps series of awards, the next stage in the STA International Swimming and Water Safety Standards (ISWSS) Learn to Swim programme.

All the Baby Water Safety - Starfish Series lessons are shown below:

STARFISH 1

Giving baby an introduction to the water and helping you to enter and leave the water safely whilst giving baby lots of encouragement.

What you will learn

  1. Safe entry into the pool for both adult and baby.
  2. Use swing dips to introduce baby to the water.
  3. Support baby on the front and move freely around the pool.
  4. Support baby on the back and move freely around the pool.
  5. Encourage baby and wash face with water.
  6. Exit pool safely.

STARFISH 2

Baby has now been introduced to the water Starfish 2 enables you to now move baby around and get used to the feel of the water with the correct support.

What you will learn

  1. Holding baby facing you and submerge yourself in the water for baby to see.
  2. Enable baby to move freely around the pool using the safety hold.
  3. Move around the pool using the seat hold, bobbing baby up and down.
  4. Supporting baby on the back while walking backwards and zigzagging through the water.
  5. Encourage baby to face their face with water or submerge baby in the water, holding baby towards you.
  6. Encourage baby to hold onto the poolside, with assistance if necessary.

STARFISH 3

Now baby is used to the movement of the water Starfish 3 teaches you to encourage them to change their own positions in the water, encourages kicking in the water and starts looking at getting into the water themselves.

What you will learn

  1. Supporting baby under the arms and encouraging baby to gently flop into the water from a sitting position on the poolside.
  2. Encouraging baby to move from front to back positions using a flip-flop rhythmical movement.
  3. Encourage baby to reach for a toy while moving around the pool, supporting baby on the front.
  4. Help baby to move through the water using a kicking action, while supporting baby on the back.
  5. Support baby using the safety hold and roll baby away from you, then gently back towards you.
  6. Using a buoyancy aid to support yourself while floating in the water, with baby laying on your chest or sitting on your tummy making eye contact.

STARFISH 4

Starfish 4 helps you to encourage baby to gently submerge in the water, roll from front position to back position and, assisted by you, encourages them to hold onto poolside and climb out (if they have the physical ability).

What you will learn

  1. Support baby by the arms or hands to encourage movement into the pool from a sitting position.
  2. Use a forward hold to encourage and gently submerge baby.
  3. Using the Little Harbour hold move around the pool while encouraging movement from baby.
  4. Encourage baby to roll from a front position to a back position with support.
  5. Encourage movement from baby by swiftly walking backwards while supporting baby on the back.
  6. Assist and encourage baby to hold onto the poolside and climb out (if baby has the physical ability).

STARFISH 5

This award covers jumping into the water from a standing postition, encourages more kicking movements with flotation support, different submerging techniques and moving towards and grasping toys.

What you will learn

  1. Encourage baby to jump into the water from a standing position on the poolside, while holding baby’s arms or hands.
  2. Supporting baby while encouraging them to roll from a back position to a front position.
  3. Encourage baby to make kicking movements with support of a buoyancy aid.
  4. Encourage baby with cues to submerge in a Duckling Dive.
  5. Swim around the pool with baby holding onto your back.
  6. With cues submerge baby vertically and rotate 180 degrees in the pool.
  7. Supporting baby in a front hold encourage to move forwards and grasp a toy, then enablie return with support in a back float position.

STARFISH 6

In the last of the Starfish series Starfish 6 helps to you encourage baby to enter and exit the water freely, move through the water with less support from you or with the use of a bouyancy aid and submerge vertically rotating 360 degrees.

What you will learn

  1. Encourage baby to enter the water freely from a sitting position on the poolside.
  2. Encourage baby to move freely through the water, either with minimal support or with the use of a buoyancy aid.
  3. Cue baby to submerge vertically and rotate 360 degrees in the pool.
  4. Supporting baby by the hands and encouraged movement in a figure of eight or snaking pattern through the water.
  5. Take baby for a front or back ride through the water, with or without support.
  6. Cue baby to submerge in a Duckling Dive towards the poolside and encourage baby to hold onto the poolside and climb out (if baby has the physical ability).