Thank you for your interest in the KASS Survival and Learn to Swim Program.
The Kids Aquatic Survival School (KASS) program is very different to most swimming lessons. Regular swim lessons for 1-4 year olds are primarily water familiarisation, not survival lessons. One in every ten drownings in Australia are children under the age of 4 so it only makes sense that these are the children that are also learning how to swim and float without floatation aids or parents holding them in the water singing nursery rhymes.
KASS deliver Australia’s safest, most effective, accelerated aquatic survival program for non verbal infants and young children. Our program focuses on aquatic survival skills targeted to children aged 6 months to 6 years. The Survival skills are designed to form a layer of protection in the prevention against drowning. The ability to swim a few feet in the water is not necessarily going to save the child in an emergency situation. No chid is drown-proof, and nothing replaces supervision or restricting access to water, however teaching a child to float could give the child, parents or emergency services those crucial seconds or minutes which could prevent further tragedy.
All KASS lessons are taught privately 1:1 with specialised instructors.
From 6 months to walking age
- A baby will learn breath control (take a breath before submerging in the water).
- They will learn how to roll over to a floating posture from any position they would find themselves in the water.
- The baby will learn how to stay in a floating and breathing posture until help arrives.
- All the above is also taught in full winter clothing, nappy and shoes.
From walking age (around 12 months)
- A child is taught breath control (take a breath before submerging in the water).
- How to open eyes under the water so that they can look to where safety is.
- How to reach up, grab and turn for the side.
- How to swim (dog paddle) to the side if they are further than arms reach away.
- How to roll over to float and breathe.
- How to combine swimming and floating if getting to the side is not obtainable in one breath of swimming.
- How to stay in a floating and breathing posture if getting to safety is not an option.
All children are taught how to remain in a floating, breathing posture if getting to safety is simply not an option. This is all taught without floaties or parents/carer in the water with the child.
Once the child has completed the KASS Survival program and is fully skilled, the child simulates an accidental fall into water. This allows the child to apply their newly learnt skills in a safe and controlled environment wearing full winter clothing including shoes and nappy. This is a vital step because it is a very different sensory experience swimming or floating in clothes. We do this because nearly 80% of children who drown, do so due to falls into the water and 67% of drownings in children aged 0-4years occur in a swimming pool and in 71% of cases the child drowned in the pool located at their primary residence. For every fatal drowning, a further 3 will be hospitalised as a result of a non-fatal drowning incident. These aquatic incidents usually happen when the child has wandered to a body of water unnoticed and fully clothed. It is a crucial skill for the child to learn, so should they ever fall into the water fully clothed, it won’t be the first time they have performed this skill and hopefully prevent further tragedy and most importantly SURVIVE.
To get results quickly, the KASS Survival program is designed for approximately 8 weeks (40 lessons) where the child participates in a 10 minute lesson 5 days/week (Monday to Friday). Survival lessons are conducted all year round, not by the school term or weekends.
We conduct lessons in:
NSW – Coogee, Lilli Pilli and Figtree
VIC – Dingley Village and Croydon
WA – Quinns Rocks
Payment is $170/week for the 5 private lessons per child – this is paid weekly. Please enquire directly with your preferred franchise location for any location specific specials or promotional discounts.
Prior to commencement of the KASS Survival and Learn to Swim program and to confirm your child’s booking in the program a once off non-refundable $100 registration fee per child is payable. For further information please refer to our lesson terms and conditions
If the child is sick we do not charge for missed lessons. We charge weekly as the program is delivered over 6-8weeks (30-40 lessons). Some children finish sooner than others but the majority require 40 lessons ie. 8 weeks
You are also very welcome to come and view lessons to see for yourself the amazing results we get in weeks or view some of our videos here
To understand the registration process please call 1800 543 779 or visit the Enrol Now page
What should I do when my child is finished?
Keep in mind that swimming improves swimming.
Therefore the more that your child swims the better they will be.
With this in mind we have the following options:
- Take your child in the pool as much as possible make swimming fun and encourage them to swim. At the end of the program we recommend that parents get in the pool with their instructor and get shown what to do when swimming with your child.
- Bring them to us on a regular basis (recommend at least once a week) for what we call Transitional Lessons.
- If you have any issues with your child’s swimming we also offer Refresher Lessons for people that have not had their children in the water very often.
- For children that are old enough normally four and a half to five we recommend Stroke Lessons.
Please click here for all the lessons terms and conditions.
