A curriculum built for our buddies, by our team
We wrote our own program so every class fits the child in front of us. Here is how it works and why we built it.
Why we wrote our own
At Splash Buddies, we spent many years teaching from an existing curriculum. It gave us a strong foundation, but as our swim school grew, so did our understanding of what our families and buddies truly needed. We could see that children of different ages and stages were often learning together, even though they developed in very different ways.
After COVID, this became even clearer. We saw opportunities to better support each child's journey—giving younger swimmers the time and foundations their bodies need, while allowing older children to feel challenged, capable, and confident. We also recognised that every child learns differently, and some are ready to explore new strokes earlier than others.
That's why we created our own curriculum. One that is built around the individual, celebrates progress at every stage, and allows each buddy to learn in a way that feels natural, achievable, and fun.
Written here, taught here
Built for our pools and our Buddies
Three streams, built around age and stage
Every buddy moves through the program at their own pace. We keep them learning alongside children their own age, with strokes introduced when they're ready.
6 months to 3 years
With a parent or carer in the water
Playful, bond-building lessons that build water confidence from the very start. Our 2.5 to 3 year old class starts building independence, with the child working with their teacher while a parent stays close.
LEVELS
Preschool
3 years to school age
Your child swims independently with their teacher. Our Swift Stingray level is open-ended, so a preschooler who is ready can work on longer freestyle, backstroke and full breaststroke without being pushed up into a school-age class before they're ready.
LEVELS
School Age
School age through to pre-squad
A full pathway from beginner school-age swimmers right through to our Sensational Sharks pre-squad program. Strokes, endurance and water safety are all built through the same play-based focus you'll find across our curriculum.
LEVELS
The full Splash Buddies curriculum
Every buddy earns certificates as they progress. Here's the whole pathway at a glance.
CurriculumBuilt for children, not for a benchmark
A few things we do that most learn-to-swim programs don't.
Grouped by age, then ability
So your three year old isn't learning next to an eight year old working on the same skill.
All four strokes, introduced when ready
Breaststroke and butterfly come in when the child's body is ready, not after an arbitrary distance.
Structured, play-based teaching
Every level uses play as the way in, from our youngest Gentle Goldfish to pre-squad Sensational Sharks.
Written for our pool and our team
The drills, progressions and language are all built for how we teach in our water.
Open-ended top levels
Swift Stingray and Sensational Sharks stretch as far as each buddy needs, so no one is pushed up before they're ready.
Individual progression
Children move up when they're ready, not at a fixed point in the term.