Between Lessons
SwimSafer Practice Guide
Lessons build the skills, but what happens between sessions is what actually makes them stick. This guide covers dry-land drills you can do at home, safe ways to practise in shallow water, a suggested weekly rhythm by stage, and how to tackle the theory quiz — so time between lessons works for your swimmer instead of just passing by.
Practice That Reinforces, Not Replaces
Nothing at home replaces proper instruction, but a little consistent practice between lessons builds real muscle memory — so pool time goes toward refining a skill rather than re-learning it from scratch each week. Your coach will tell you exactly what to focus on based on where your swimmer actually is.
A Free Requirements Checklist
Once a stage's skills feel solid, we run a free mock assessment in the actual test format — same must-see criteria, same pacing — so the real thing feels like a repeat of something familiar, not a first attempt under pressure.
No Pool Required
Practising Between Lessons
Plenty of useful practice needs no pool at all. Breath control can be rehearsed in the bath or even the shower — blowing bubbles into a few inches of water, turning the head to "breathe air," and getting comfortable with water on the face outside the pressure of a lesson. Kick technique translates well to dry land too: lying face-down on a bed or mat with legs hanging off the edge, keeping knees straight and toes pointed, is a close enough approximation that a bent-knee habit shows up on the mattress before it shows up in the water.
Stroke mechanics benefit from the same approach — freestyle arm sweeps practised standing in front of a mirror, or backstroke arm positions lying flat with a straight arm passing close to the ear, build the movement pattern before it needs to happen underwater and out of breath. For stages where a jump or dive entry is required, building confidence starts small: jumping off a low step into an adult's arms on land, then repeating the same motion in shallow water once it feels familiar.
Keep dry-land sessions short — five to ten minutes for younger children, up to about fifteen for older ones — and treat them as play rather than training. Consistency across short sessions beats occasional long ones, especially for children who lose focus quickly once a drill starts to feel like work.
The Why
Why Practice Between Lessons Matters
A stage's worth of lessons only covers so many hours in the water — here's what practice adds on top.
Muscle Memory Without the Pressure
Dry-land drills let a swimmer focus entirely on body position and movement pattern, without managing buoyancy, breathing and coordination all at once — which is often where a stroke habit actually gets fixed.
Deep Water Isn't a Surprise on Test Day
Practising skills at the correct pool depth before assessment day — not just in the shallow end — means a swimmer isn't experiencing deep water for the first time under test conditions.
Confidence Builds Gradually
Short, low-pressure practice sessions between lessons let a swimmer notice their own progress in small steps, which tends to build genuine confidence faster than waiting for one big weekly lesson to feel like enough.
Faster Progress Through Stages
Swimmers who reinforce lessons between sessions often move through stages more efficiently — not because they're more talented, but because less lesson time gets spent re-establishing skills that faded during the week.
A Simple Rhythm
Suggested Weekly Practice Plan
A rough guide by stage group — your coach will tailor this to your swimmer's specific gaps.
Stage Group | Dry-Land Focus | Pool Focus | Suggested Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
Stage 1–2 | Bathtub bubble-blowing, face-in-water comfort, floor kicking drills | Floats, safe entries and exits, short unaided distances | 3–4 short sessions a week, 5–10 min each |
Stage 3–4 | Mirror stroke drills for freestyle and backstroke arms, straight-leg kicking on a mat | Stroke technique, coordinated breathing, clothed skill familiarity | 2–3 sessions a week, 10–15 min each |
Stage 5–6 | Whole-stroke dry runs, timing drills for distance pacing | Deep-water entries, survival sequences, timed distance swims | 2 sessions a week, plus 1 full mock run before assessment |
Frequency matters more than duration — a few short, focused sessions each week beat one long, unfocused one, especially for younger swimmers.
Making It Count
Getting the Most From Practice Time
A few habits that turn practice into real progress instead of just repetition.
At Home
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Keep sessions short and playful — five to ten minutes is plenty for younger children
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Use a mirror for stroke drills so your swimmer can see, not just feel, whether their arm is entering correctly
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Stop immediately if there's any joint discomfort; dry-land drills should never feel like a workout
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Celebrate small milestones along the way rather than only the final stage certificate
For the Theory Quiz
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Treat the theory quiz with the same seriousness as the practical — it needs a 90% pass mark to count
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Use the official study materials available through the CAMS portal ahead of time
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Schedule the quiz for the same week as the practical, while the pool experience is still fresh
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Where possible, complete it before the practical assessment so there's nothing left riding on the 7-day deadline afterward
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
From Our Blog
Want to Read More?
A few guides from our blog if you'd like to go deeper before test day.