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SwimSafer 2.0

SwimSafer Stage 1

Water confidence & safety

Stage 1 builds your child’s confidence and independence in the water, with an introduction to general and deep-end water safety. They learn safe entry and exit, forward and backward movement, submersion, floating and gliding.

What your child learns in this stage

Entries & Exits Slide-in entry
Exit using ladder and from the pool edge
Sculling & Body Orientation Front float (mushroom or jellyfish), 5 seconds, recover to a standing position
Back float, 5 seconds, recover to a standing position
Underwater Skills Submerge in waist-deep (student’s) water, open eyes and blow bubbles
Movement/Swimming/Strokes Movement on front 10m (alternating arms & legs and/or simultaneous arms and legs)
Movement on back 5m (alternating arms & legs and/or simultaneous arms and legs)
Survival & Activity skills Signal distress and call for help
Grasp a floatation aid and float with it for 10 seconds
Then move (with the float) to the pool’s edge and
Exit safely from water
Dressed in swimwear, shorts and t-shirt demonstrate: Correctly fit a PFD, jump into the water, float for 30 seconds and then climb out of deep-water
Rescue Skills nil
Knowledge Rules of behaviour in, on or near the water
Water safety knowledge at a swimming pool
Water safety rules in various aquatic environments
Principles of personal safety and survival
Principles of watercraft safety
Recognising an Emergency
Principles when performing a rescue

 

SwimSafer 2.0 Stage 1 Assessment

Sequence 1A: (w/o goggles)

  • Enter water with slide-in entry
  • Swim on back 5m and recover
  • Submerge head in water, open eyes, blow bubbles, and identify object on pool floor
  • Perform front float for 5 sec and recovers
  • Perform back float for 5 sec and recovers
  • Swim 10m
  • Signal distress and call for help
  • Grasp float and float fo 10 sec
  • Move to pool’s edge (with float)
  • Exit using ladder/climb out from pool edge

Sequence 1B: (w/o goggles)
Dress in swimwear, t-shirt and short:

  • Correctly fit a PFD, jump into water
  • Float for 30 sec and
  • Safely climb out of water
How this stage is assessed: a practical in-water assessment (assessed as fully competent) plus an online water-safety theory quiz with a 90% pass mark. Since July 2025 both are managed on the national CAMS platform run by Singapore Aquatics, and e-certificates are issued through FileSG.

Progress through SwimSafer with Happy Fish — our kids swimming lessons follow the SwimSafer 2.0 syllabus in warm indoor heated pools across Singapore.

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