Frequently Asked Questions

You can fill out our online registration form, register over the phone on 1300 725 355 or you can visit the centre.
Our Registration fee is $60 which includes:

• Swim bag
• Towel
• Swim cap
• Goggles
• (Water Babies receive a swim nappy in lieu of cap and goggles)

Anytime! We run a perpetual based program. We believe that a consistent year round approach to swimming is necessary for children to learn how to swim and be safe in the water.

Depending on the level your child swims dictates the cost of the lesson. Please enquire at time of booking and enrolling.

You may permanently change your lessons by talking to our front desk staff. If your desired spot is not available, we will waitlist you for that class, and do our best to book your swimmer in as openings become available. We do not allow weekly swapping of lessons.

Credits, make ups and refunds are not given for missed lessons.

Swimmer absence due to illness will be charged and a make up lesson will be provided if PDSA are advised via email or phone call before 9am weekdays on the day of the lesson or 8am if lesson is on a weekend and a medical certificate is provided dated during the period the child falls sick. In the case of swimmer no show, if there has been no or insufficient notification of absence lesson fee will be charged and no make up lesson will be offered.

Note:

• Make up classes are a courtesy and are not guaranteed
• We will not reschedule any makeup classes i.e. no make ups for your make ups
• Make ups expire after 2 weeks
• If you no show for your makeup you will be charged a $10 fee
• Makes ups are NOT valid if you have outstanding fees

In the event you suspend lessons with 14 days notice, PDSA will only charge a $10 suspension fee per lesson missed to a maximum of 2 consecutive lessons within a 4 week period, not the full lesson fee. PDSA allows up to 5 suspensions per year.
For lessons missed due to public holidays or pool closures the monthly fee will be reduced accordingly.

Withdrawal forms are available from the front desk.
Withdrawals require minimum 4 weeks notice and must be given before 15th of the month.

A Signed Cancellation form must be submitted.

No Verbal withdrawals or messages on social media or basic emails are accepted.
Should you withdraw without written notice, you will be charged an early withdrawal fee equivalent to 4 weeks of your child’s lesson cost.
Management reserves the right to cancel any enrolment.

We advocate for year-round lessons at Puddle Ducks Swim Academy to promote skill acquisition and maintenance. Summer lessons are wonderful, but most kids will regress in their skill level and water confidence if they only take lessons for a few weeks out of each year. Swimming is a life-saving skill, and it’s also great exercise. Children who get year-round swimming lessons become water confident more quickly and retain their swimming skills longer.

Lessons at Puddle Ducks Swim Academy are unique for four main reasons:

1. Our teachers are professionals – Teaching swimming is our main job. Our full-time teachers have been teaching collectively for over 30 years. We’ve taught thousands of children to swim and are experts in building trusting relationships with kids in the pool. Your child will be in expert hands.
2. Our classes are small – We advocate private lessons because kids learn when they have 100% attention and our instructors work to maintain focus for the entire lesson. Group-based learning often requires children waiting their turn and they forget what skills they are working on during this time. We ensure our learning environment is safe and engaging.
3. We teach a unique curriculum based on the physical properties of buoyancy and propulsion – Kids in our program learn to swim with the correct technique from the beginning. Our program is based on skill mastery, not simply exposure. This allows for each individual child to progress at his or her own pace while enjoying the water.
4. Our pool is warm! – We keep our water temperatures between 30 and 32 degrees. Kids learn best when they’re comfortable, which is why we crank up the heat.

Every child is different, and we cannot recommend a specific time frame, we are very flexible in working with each child’s individual strengths and weaknesses within each level and we are also constantly evaluating the students and making adjustments to help each child in the learn-to-swim process.

Level names are changed as soon as the children advance beyond the skills required for that class. Kids in our Shark class will hit the 400m milestone which ensures they have a reduced likelihood of drowning. Kids who learn to swim correctly also retain those skills into adulthood, where they can use swimming as a means to stay fit throughout their lifetime.

Your child will need a snug swimsuit, goggles and a towel. We recommend swim caps for swimmers with long hair as this affects head position when learning to breathe. We prefer the swimmers not wear swim shirts, board shorts or scuba masks as they hinder progression.

Upon registration you will receive a welcome pack containing goggles, a towel, a bag and a swim hat and you’ll also receive detailed instructions about what to bring on your first day.

Whether your child is apprehensive about their first lesson or has had a bad experience with the water before, we will be patient and empathetic to their feelings. Swimming lessons can be trying for both parent and child. It is never easy to see your child upset, however, there’s nothing we haven’t seen or experienced when it comes to kids in the pool. The best thing you can do as a parent is let our skilled instructors work with your child and be there with a big hug and lots of praise when your child is finished. We work to establish a safe, trusting relationship with each new swimmer we encounter, and we are very successful. The level of trust you extend to our teachers will allow your child to experience that same trust.

We ask that parents observe lessons and not interrupt the lesson. Children engage in their lessons more readily if they aren’t distracted by their parents. If your child is nervous about their lesson, we ask you to be patient and let us work our magic. It can take time to develop a trusting bond between teacher and student, but we’ve never met a kid we couldn’t win over.

If your child is unsettled we ask you move to reception out of their line of sight and allow them to develop a positive relationship with their instructor.

Some of our students and many of our parents have become attached to their teachers. We know that different students respond to different teaching personalities and we will always try to accommodate these needs.

We cannot guarantee a teacher and we will always reserve the right to change teachers if necessary, however when booking your lessons there will be an opportunity to request a particular teacher.