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Time to STAnd Up For Swimming

STAnd Up for Swimming is STA’s new campaign, which we will be rolling-out in 2022, our 90th anniversary year, in response to the crippling swimming teacher shortage in the UK.

STAnd Up for Swimming is STA’s new campaign, which we will be rolling-out in 2022, our 90th anniversary year, in response to the crippling swimming teacher shortage in the UK.

As an educational charity dedicated to ‘preserving human life by the teaching of swimming, lifesaving and survival techniques’, we think it’s time to stop the talking and take action – and as the programme says “STAnd Up for Swimming” – stand up for all those involved in grassroots swimming … swim schools, swim operators and our future young swimmers.

Through the STAnd Up for Swimming programme, STA will be pledging tens of thousands of charity funds to train many hundreds of new swimming teachers for FREE, around the UK, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2022.

We know, one of the main issues that is preventing new people joining the profession is the cost of training – STAnd Up for Swimming removes this cost barrier through the provision of FREE training.

The aim over the course of 2022 is to qualify many hundreds of new Level 2 swimming teachers – who once qualified will then be able to hit the deck running.

“As an industry we cannot afford to wait around any longer; we need to take a proactive stance together and tackle the issue of swimming teacher shortages head-on NOW. By pledging tens of thousands of our own charity funds to this campaign, we are showing our commitment and support to all those involved in grassroots swimming, and playing our part in ensuring we don’t have a lost generation of young swimmers.”

Get Involved

Are you an STA Tutor, Assessor or Swim School who would like to offer their pool space for hire or would like to nominate a learner? If so get involed!

Offer Tutor Services

Offer Assessor Services

Offer Pool Time / Space

Nominate a Learner

None of the above? Don’t worry, you can still get involved to support our campaign here.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do I register my ATC?

    Please click here to register as an STA Tutor.

  • Is the programme open to all STA ATCs?

    Yes

  • How will the ATC / Tutor be paid, and what does the funding cover?

    STA will pay the ATC a fixed fee. There will be no other costs to the tutor / ATC, as we are seeking venues to provide a pool and we are compiling a database of Assessors who are willing to provide their services voluntarily.

    All learner costs are covered as part of the programme, including registration fees, course manuals and portfolios – the only exception to this is STA’s membership fee.

  • Why aren’t assessors being offered payment?

    As a charity we have to prioritise the funding available to ensure we can get as many new swimming teachers qualified as possible – many ATCs have already offered to share the fixed fee with assessors, but this is entirely your decision.

  • Will an ATC only be offered courses in its area, and how will you know what area I provide to?

    It is very early days, and this will be dictated by the number of nominated of learners we receive in a particular region, and the regions that we identify as being a priority via the swim school survey.

    On the online Tutor registration form, there will be a section where you can add in what areas you provide to.

    Ideally, we want to match Tutors as locally to a course as possible.

  • How will courses be allocated?

    When planning the courses, we will be identifying the geographical regions that swim schools prioritise based on nomination numbers, and where waiting lists for swimming lessons, as a result of swimming teaching shortages, are at their highest.

  • How will courses be registered / organised?

    Based on geographical location / demand following the swim survey data, STA will liaise with ATCs regarding suitable times for STAnd Up for Swimming courses. STA will then contact the ATC with venue details, learner’s details for the STAnd Up for Swimming course and the allocated assessor details. The ATC will then be able to register a STAnd Up for Swimming course via STA Online using the specific code.

  • Is funding available for overseas learners?

    As a UK based charity, this is a UK based programme only.

  • Can swim schools / learners request a specific ATC / Tutor?

    Courses will be organised by STA based on geographical need, not by personal preferences.

  • How many courses/learners are you going to qualify?

    Too early to confirm.

  • Can my ATC choose what tutors/assessors it uses?

    This again will be dictated by STA based on the geographical need.

  • Will there be a contract?

    ATCs / Tutors will be required to sign our STAnd Up for Swimming Terms and Conditions.

  • We do not have a swim school, but we hire pools for training purposes, can these be put forward as venues?

    Yes – please see here.

  • Can an ATC pay its assessors as part of its contribution to the scheme?

    This will be your decision to make – there is a fixed fee per course, which will be paid by STA to the ATC.

  • My ATC is worried that it won't get learners onto its normal paid courses if a free course is running?

    Our research has identified that cost is one of the biggest barriers for people wanting to train to become a swimming teacher and with STAnd Up for Swimming we are removing this barrier. In direct answer to your question, the learners who will be benefitting from these courses will have all been nominated by swim schools, so they are people who have expressed genuine interest in training but have not had the opportunity to pursue their career choice because of cost for example – they are people that would probably have never booked on to a ‘paid’ course, which ultimately is the aim because we want to attract these new people to the industry by breaking down historical barriers and thus give swim schools the opportunity to employ Level 2-ready trained swimming teachers.

    This is about seeing the bigger picture, and understanding we have a real genuine recruitment problem. The reality is that the current ways we’ve all been trying to attract people into swimming teaching are simply not working as effectively (or as quickly) as we would all like, so this is us standing up to do something good for the greater good of grassroots swimming in line with our charitable objectives, and we hope you share in our passion, see the bigger picture and join us in making a difference.