National Plan For Teaching Swimming

The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) is in the process of reviewing its National Plan for Teaching Swimming (NPTS) and will launch the new template at its inaugural Education conference in April next year.

Introduced in 1998, the NPTS is one of the most successful programmes ever introduced by a sports governing body and has become the preferred framework for the delivery of learn to swim lessons throughout the UK.

The revised NPTS is underpinned by the ASA’s Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) framework that advises children to learn core skills before specialisation.

Ready for launch in September 2007, the new-look NPTS will encompass core skills in swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, water polo and lifesaving (in partnership with the Royal Life Saving Society), encouraging youngsters to master the basics before moving seamlessly to discipline-specific lessons.

The revised structure will also make it easier for lesson providers to work together. By streamlining the pathway through the Plan, children will be able to move seamlessly from school and national curriculum programmes into public and private learn to swim schemes and onto a club programme.

The NPTS is designed to complement the ASA’s quality assurance scheme for clubs, Swim 21, to ensure children can progress into a recognised club programme in their chosen discipline.

The ASA is in the process of consulting with lesson providers and specialists within the swimming industry and pilots are planned from early 2007.

There will be training opportunities to enable qualified teachers to update themselves on the revised approach, while new teacher training courses will automatically follow the NPTS syllabus from September as part of the new UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) teacher qualifications.

To ensure a seamless changeover, the ASA Business Team will be working with NPTS providers to help phase in the new structure from September 2007.