Children at Willow Dene have continued to enjoy and benefit from regular access to our on-site warm water pool and dedicated swimming team. The school recognises, and values, the heightened importance of our children being able to explore this phase of provision, while ensuring confidence, fitness and skills are core fundamentals in children’s swimming development. By creating an immersive, tranquil learning environment for our children, they have shown to make steady progress over a shorter period of time.   

Continued advantages of Willow Dene children accessing swimming lessons from our highly skilled team include:  

• Innovative thematic teaching, with schemes of work linked to stories, topics and children’s interests while focused on building confidence, water safety and skill development.  

• Staff supporting the class group have an excellent understanding of their needs, ensuring a continued high-quality provision past the swimming teachers.   

• Full accessibility, with two hoists, a PoolPod and multiple ways to enter the water. Both these, and activities in the water, are personalised and linked to children’s MOVE targets where appropriate.