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The role of the assistant swimming teacher is to provide a fantastic experience to people learning to swim by delivering fun, safe and inclusive swimming activities. They will support the swimming teacher in the delivery of swimming lesson activities to participants of all ages and abilities.
practitioner
Assistant Swimming Teacher
The role
Assistant swimming teachers deliver fun, safe and inclusive swimming activities and support the swimming teacher in the delivery of swimming lessons to participants of all ages and abilities. Through their engaging, fun and safe delivery of activities, participants will build confidence in the water, develop core aquatic skills and improve their capability in all four swimming strokes.
Assistant swimming teachers understand how to support the swimming teacher to work with a range of participants with different abilities over a time period long enough to show improvement against their needs and aspirations.
What it takes
The following common or transferable skills are most frequently asked for by employers in Assistant swimming teacher job adverts across the UK:
| Skills and behaviours | % prevalence in job ads |
|---|---|
| Enthusiasm | 53% |
| Patience | 49% |
| Teaching | 39% |
| Customer service | 35% |
| Operations | 34% |
| Self-motivation | 33% |
| Organisational skills | 32% |
| First Aid | 32% |
| Time management | 32% |
| Professionalism | 31% |
To find out more about the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate to become an Assistant swimming teacher, you can visit our professional standards library.
Getting in
There are several ways you can become qualified as an assistant swimming teacher. Look at the options below to explore what option works best for you.
There are several options of qualifications you can complete to become an assistant swimming teacher such as:
You can browse all CIMSPA-endorsed assistant swimming teacher qualifications on our endorsed course directory.
There are usually no entry requirements or prior experience necessary to complete an assistant swimming teacher qualification.
Coaching courses are delivered in person or via a hybrid delivery format (online or in person). The total course cost, study time and guided learning hours will vary depending on the delivery format, qualification and training provider you choose.
Some colleges have embedded assistant swimming teacher or swimming teacher qualifications into their learning programmes.
In the Training Directory, you can also check what courses our endorsed colleges and universities offer as well as course entry requirements, a summary of course content/material. You will also find more information on how to apply.
You can find out more about completing a Leisure Team Member apprenticeship via The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) website. The Leisure Team Member apprenticeship offers options to become qualified not only as a swimming teacher, but as a gym instructor, pool lifeguard and first aider, too.
Training
CPD points
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This course is a Training Academy course
Typical earnings
Not currently available
Your earnings will depend on the hours you work, your location, level of experience and whether you are employed or self-employed. To give you an idea, the data presented reflects the earnings listed in job advertisements across the UK from January to December 2024, as gathered via Lightcast (March 2025). Average annual earnings reflect full-time roles (>32hours/week), however average hourly earnings are a reflection of data collected from full-time, part-time and flexible hours vacancies.
Demand
Not currently available
Typical working patterns
Not currently available
As well as exploring new career pathways, as an assistant swimming teacher, you can also choose to progress your career by completing further training or continued professional development (CPD) in your role. This training can be added to enable assistant swimming teachers to show their expertise in additional populations, in different environments and with technical specialisms.
Examples of specialisms that may be added are:
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The content of the job posts displayed on the CIMSPA jobs board are pulled in through feeds from websites which are not under the control of CIMSPA.
CIMSPA will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the jobs board.