It's time for an overhaul - we're refreshing our Oasis Swim School lesson levels and skills!
Big News! Our Oasis Swim School lesson levels are getting a makeover!
We've been itching to share some exciting news, and now, we finally can! Starting from Term 4 2024, we will be giving our swimming lesson levels a complete overhaul!
For the past six months, we've been hard at work reconfiguring our lesson structure to create much clearer skill progression path for students and their carer's.
Firstly, we've refreshed the naming convention of each level, moving away from the confusing "Active" and "Developing" names to a level 1-10 system with corresponding animal mascots. Additionally, and more importantly, we've restructured the skills within each level to align with national benchmarks for swimming and water safety to ensure we are providing the absolute best practices and standards in swim education.
Each new level has a current equivalent, ie, Active D1 will become Level 1, ensuring a seamless transition for current and recent students. You can check out the new levels below for Term 4 2024 and their current equivalents.
New Oasis Swim School Level Structure (from Term 4 2024)
Water Babies 1 - Jellyfish
(Previously Wonder 1)
Water Babies 2 - Starfish
(Wonder 2)
Water Tots - Goldfish
(Wonder 3)
Level 1 - Crabs
(Active D1)
Level 2 - Seahorses
(Active 1)
Level 3 - Turtles
(Active D2)
Level 4 - Octopi
(Active 2)
Level 5 - Seals
(Active D3)
Level 6 - Penguins
(Active 3)
Level 7 - Marlins
(Active 4)
Level 8 - Stingrays
(Active 5)
Level 9 - Dolphins
(Active 6)
Level 10 - Sharks
(Active 7)
Water Babies 1 - Jellyfish
The previous equivalent of this level was "Wonder 1".
Water Babies 1 Skills
Safely enter the pool with carer
Safely exit the pool with carer
Kicking action
Grasping carers thumb while moving through the water
Body rotation in a horizontal and vertical position
Back floating with ears fully submerged
Gliding from wall to carer & return
Reaching for objects
Readiness for submersion
Water Babies 2 - Starfish
The previous equivalent of this level was "Wonder 2".
Water Babies 2 Skills
Safely enter & exit water with carer
Safety slide from edge to pool
Hand walking along the pool edge & climb out
With support move arms and legs through the water
Experience floating on front and back
Experience floating with a flotation aid
Gliding from wall to carer & return
Gliding from carer to instructor & return
Assisted jump in turn back to wall
Collect an object from the ramp/steps
Water Tots - Goldfish
The previous equivalent of this level was "Wonder 3".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Water Tots Skills
Safety slide (unassisted)
Safety exit (unassisted)
Float on front, recover to a standing position
Float on back, recover to a standing position
Correct freestyle kicking action
Underwater freestyle arm action
Glide from wall to instructor and return
Kicking on back with face out of water (assisted)
Fully submerge face underwater (unassisted)
Survival sequence
Simulate accidental entry
Demonstrate finding the ground
Move to safety
Exit water safely
Level 1 - Crabs
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active D1".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 1 Skills
Safety slide
Safety exit
Float on front, recover to a standing position (unassisted)
Float on back, recover to a standing position (unassisted)
Streamline with kickboard for 5m (unassisted)
Streamline for 3m (unassisted)
Basic freestyle arm action
Back kicking with kickboard for 5m (unassisted)
Back kicking without kickboard for 3m (unassisted)
Sculling action
Submerge from edge into water horizontally towards teacher
Collect an object from the bottom of the pool
Survival sequence
Simulate accidental entry
Demonstrate finding the ground
Move to safety
Exit water safely
Level 2 - Seahorses
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 1".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 2 Skills
Safety slide
Safety exit
Front float, roll into a back float then recover to a standing position
Streamline for 5m
Basic freestyle (slow and controlled)
Back kicking (push from edge)
Basic backstroke with kickboard
Bouncing action off the bottom of the pool (spring)
Collect an object from bottom of the pool
Survival sequence
Simulate crouched accidental entry
Demonstrate protecting head action
Surface to floating position or grab the edge
Exit water safely
Level 3 - Turtles
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active D2".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 3 Skills
Safety slide
Safety exit
Front float, roll into a back float then recover to the side
Side breathing with kickboard
Basic freestyle with side breathing
Back streamline (push from edge)
Basic backstroke
Breaststroke arms with correct breathing
Collect an object from bottom of the pool
Survival sequence
Simulate accidental entry
Demonstrate hand sculling action with head out of the water (assisted)
Recover to edge
Exit water safely
Level 4 - Octopi
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 2".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 4 Skills
Safety slide
Safety exit
Safe jump in entry, tread water and recover to the side
Freestyle with basic bilateral breathing for 10m
Backstroke in a horizontal position for 10m
2 slow controlled breaststroke kicks
Survival backstroke legs
Assisted kneeling dive
Forward roll from standing position
Throw rescue and call for help
Reach rescue and call for help
Survival sequence
Simulate accidental entry
Demonstrate treading water action, roll into survival backstroke
Recover to edge
Exit water safely
Level 5 - Seals
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active D3".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 5 Skills
Safety step entry
Compact jump
Deep-water exit
Correct freestyle technique with bilateral breathing for 13m
Correct backstroke technique with continuous movement for 13m
Basic breaststroke with breathing pattern (every 2/3 kicks)
Survival sidestroke leg action
Assisted kneeling dive from bulkhead
Forward roll in deep water
Correct streamline push from wall
Throw rescue using a rope, ball, and kickboard
Tow rescue to the edge of pool deck
Survival sequence
Safely step into the pool
Demonstrate sidestroke legs to shallow water/edge
Exit water safely
Level 6 - Penguins
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 3".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 6 Skills
Safety step entry
Compact jump
Deep-water exit
Continuous freestyle for 25m with correct technique
Continuous backstroke for 25m with correct technique
Continuous breaststroke for 13m with correct technique
Butterfly kicking action for 13m
Butterfly arm action for 13m
Survival sidestroke arm action
Correct streamline push from wall into stroke
Backstroke start from wall into stroke
Tumble turn
Crouch dive from bulkhead
Support tow in the shallow end (walking)
Wrist tow in the shallow end (walking)
Survival sequence
Safely step into the pool
Tread water for 1 min
Transition into survival backstroke for 25m
Exit water safely
Level 7 - Marlins
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 4".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 7 Skills
Safely enter the pool
Safely exit the pool
Continuous freestyle for 50m including correct starting technique
Continuous backstroke for 50m including correct starting technique
Continuous breaststroke for 25m including correct starting technique
Continuous butterfly for 13m with correct technique
Survival side stroke for 25m
Standing dive from the bulkhead
Tumble turn into any stroke
Collect a weighted object from the deep end and push off the bottom to the surface
Armpit tow (shallow end)
Head tow (shallow end)
Survival sequence
Safely enter the pool
Tread water for 1 min
Transition into survival freestyle for 25m
Sidestroke back to safety for 25m
Exit water safely
Level 8 - Stingrays
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 5".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 8 Skills
Safely enter the pool
Safely exit the pool
Freestyle for 100m
Backstroke for 100m
Breaststroke for 50m
Butterfly for 25m
Race start from bulkhead for freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly
Correct backstroke starting position
Vertical butterfly kick from the bottom of the pool to the surface
Double armpit tow (deep end)
Support tow (deep end)
Survival sequence
Safely enter the pool
Swim underwater for 5m
Return to surface, feet first sculling for 25m
Survival breaststroke for 25m
Survival backstroke for 25m
Level 9 - Dolphins
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 6".
Students must be able to demonstrate all of the skills listed below before moving on to the next level.
Level 9 Skills
Safely enter the pool
Safely exit the pool
Freestyle for 200m
Backstroke for 200m
Breaststroke for 100m
Butterfly for 50m
Race start from bulkhead for freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly
Correct backstroke starting position
Diving from bulkhead, swimming underwater (breaststroke) to collect a weighted object and surface (10m)
Wrist tow (deep end)
Survival sequence
Dive into the pool safely
Swim underwater for 5m
Return to surface into survival freestyle for 25m
Survival breaststroke for 25m
Tread water for 2 minutes
Survival backstroke for 25m
Survival sidestroke for 25m
Level 10 - Sharks
The previous equivalent of this level was "Active 7".
Level 10 Skills
Safely enter the pool
Safely exit the pool
Freestyle for 300m
Backstroke for 300m
Breaststroke for 200m
Butterfly for 100m
Race start from bulkhead for freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly
Correct backstroke starting position
Diving from bulkhead, swimming underwater (breaststroke) to collect a weighted object and surface (10m)
Vice grip tow (deep end)
Survival sequence
Dive into the pool safely
Swim underwater for 5m (deep end)
Return to surface into survival freestyle for 25m
Feet first sculling for 25m
Tread water for 2 minutes
Survival breaststroke for 25m
Survival backstroke for 25m
Survival sidestroke for 25m
New Level FAQs
Why are you changing and renaming the level structure?
The national benchmarks for swimming and water safety have recently been updated, so to continue to provide the highest level of instruction, we needed to update the skills within each level. We took this opportunity to rename all our levels while re-assessing and updating all the skills to make level progression easier to follow for both students and their carers, ensuring a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.
How are the skills changing?
We’ll be sending out more detailed information soon regarding the updated skills and how they align with the existing level skills. While most of the skills will directly correspond to the current levels, we’ve updated them to improve stroke progression between levels and to incorporate more essential water safety and survival skills. Most of these changes involve rewording, but some skills have been rearranged across levels.
We're currently enrolled in lessons for term 3, what happens during rollover week for term 4?
Current students will rollover into the new level structure based off their current levels as per normal. We'll be taking into consideration the new level structure when conducting assessments during Term 3 to ensure students are enrolled into the correct levels in Term 4.
We’re wanting to enrol our child into Term 4 lessons but we’re not sure which level they should be in, how can we find out?
The best thing to do is book a free assessment so we can determine the best level for your child. You can book an assessment by contacting Oasis reception on 6926 9390.
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