Aqua Education Academy

We're incredibly grateful to the STA Swimming Teachers' Association for their continued endorsement and support of Trauma Free Submersions and Aquatic Reflex Awareness.

Over the last five years, these conversations have travelled far beyond what Julie and I ever imagined, reaching teachers and swim schools across 11 countries and connecting us with hundreds of professionals who simply want to understand children more deeply.

The greatest privilege hasn't been delivering courses.

It's been listening to the stories of the children, teachers and families who continue to shape our thinking every single day.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey so far.

We're excited to see where the next five years take us 🌈 💙

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?

Over the last five years, we've realised that many people hear the name and assume it's simply about not forcing children underwater.

𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧.

It means...
❤️ recognising that every child experiences water differently.
🧡 understanding that confidence cannot be rushed.
💛 observing before intervening.
💚 respecting communication, even when it isn't spoken.
🩵 appreciating that a smile, a pause, a reach, a hesitation or a moment of stillness all tell us something important.

💜...and it means remembering that the experience surrounding a submersion is often far more important than the submersion itself.

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲.

🌻 It was about creating the conditions where children feel safe enough to explore challenge in their own time.

𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥.
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 ⭐

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿.

💙 That's what Trauma Free Submersions has always meant to us.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

As teachers, we often focus on the next skill we want a child to learn: floating, kicking, blowing bubbles, jumping or submerging.

But children aren't simply learning skills. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧.

A child who feels safe may become curious, while a child who feels rushed may become cautious.

Every interaction, pause, smile and moment of connection becomes part of their story.
𝘈 𝘤ℎ𝘪𝑙𝘥 𝘸ℎ𝘰 𝘧𝑒𝘦𝑙𝘴 𝘭𝑖𝘴𝑡𝘦𝑛𝘦𝑑 𝑡𝘰 𝘭𝑒𝘢𝑟𝘯𝑠 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝘵 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑖𝘳 𝘤𝑜𝘮𝑚𝘶𝑛𝘪𝑐𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯 𝘮𝑎𝘵𝑡𝘦𝑟𝘴.

That's one of the reasons Trauma Free Submersions has always been about so much more than going underwater.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱.

Because when we respect a child's experience today, we help shape their relationship with water for years to come.

💙 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

What small moment in a lesson has taught you something profound about a child?

Aqua Education was born because we believed that babies deserved to be listened to.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 ~ 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Swimming is often measured by milestones and achievements, but we've always been interested in the moments that happen before.

~ 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴?
~ 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦?
~ 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦?

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 '𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀'.

Five years after the launch of TFS, we're still asking questions, still learning from the children we meet and teach, and still believing that respectful experiences create lasting relationships with water.

❓What is one belief about teaching babies that has changed for you over the years❓

Children are not projects to be completed. They are people to be understood.

Water simply gives us a beautiful place to have that conversation 🌈💙

Transform Your Approach to Submersion with Trauma Free Submersions CPD! for £99.00.

Are you ready to revolutionise your submersion practices? Our Trauma Free Submersion CPD, endorsed by the STA, offers a fresh perspective on teaching swimming to babies.

Why is this important? Because respecting the "NO" makes the "YES" possible in submersion practices.
It’s crucial to understand that babies don’t arrive at swimming lessons with goals or expectations. Instead, they engage with the water through sensation, movement, and relationship — moment by moment.
From a baby’s perspective, the focus shouldn’t be on skill acquisition but rather on how the experience feels in their body.

What You'll Gain from This CPD:Child-Led Learning:
Explore techniques that prioritize the baby’s experience, allowing them to learn at their own pace.
Empathy in Teaching: Develop a deeper understanding of how to create a nurturing, responsive environment that meets a baby’s needs, rather than imposing adult expectations.
Enhanced Skills: Learn how to effectively communicate with infants, ensuring each session is enjoyable and stress-free for both baby and instructor.

This is an excellent CPD for anyone looking to foster a more child-led experience in their submersion practices. Let’s create an environment that truly supports our youngest swimmers!

https://aqua-education.thinkific.com/courses/take/Psychology-of-Submersion

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹...
..𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲?

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

🤔 But what if there is something else going on ?

Facial sensitivity and withdrawal responses can be linked to:
🐙 sensory processing
🐍 retained reflexes
🐈‍⬛ vestibular challenges
🙈 previous experiences
🦉 developmental readiness

When we understand the why, our teaching changes...and we have more empathy and compassion 💕

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺, 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲.

This is exactly what Julie and I explore in our Facial Sensitivity & Submersion Challenges Webinar - "𝘵𝑟𝘰𝑢𝘣𝑙𝘦 𝘸𝑖𝘵ℎ 𝑏𝘶𝑏𝘣𝑙𝘦𝑠?"

Inside you'll discover:
✔ why some children struggle with water on the face
✔ the role of reflexes and sensory systems
✔ practical pool exercises you can use immediately
✔ a simple facial massage routine
✔ a downloadable quick-reference guide

For many teachers, this webinar explains behaviours they've been seeing for years but never fully understood x

🎥 1.5-hour webinar
📖 Quick reference guide
💙 Facial massage exercise

It's just £14.99...a special offer to you as we love our fans xx

𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧...𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩.

Webinar: Facial Sensitivity and Submersion Challenges A focused educational webinar exploring why some children experience facial sensitivity in the pool and how this can influence facial immersion and submersion. Designed for swim teachers seeking deeper understanding and practical insight.

Thank you to the wonderful cohort of instructors who joined us today for our '𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀' 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 0-12𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 💞

🩷 We spent the morning discussing:
* 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭
* 𝘱𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
* 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮
* 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯...𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴

🧡 𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 - one partner was the adult and the other was the child...and the feedback into our bodies was very revealing.

💛 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗳 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 / 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹...which we of course, experienced ourselves.

💚...𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 - 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 for the adult, and we looked at the benefit of using these in our parent and baby classes.

💜 The next few dates for this workshop will be advertised soon - message us with your email address if you're interested in learning more xx