Swimming Classes at Puddle Ducks Derbyshire
Olivia & mummy have a cuddle underwater !
Find out about baby swimming, toddler swimming and child swimming classes in and around Derby and Derbyshire.
Hello & a warm welcome to Puddle Ducks Derbyshire
I'm Cate and I am both proud and delighted to be bringing the Puddle Ducks experience to the Derby & surrounding areas. I am at my happiest when surrounded by gorgeous babies & toddlers in one of our swimming classes, I have to pinch myself sometimes when I realise I do this for my Job, how lucky am I ?
I have been taking my daughter Olivia swimming since she was a 6 week old baby and I believe that joining the Puddle Ducks programme will be the most fun you will have with your child but you will also be learning a vital life saving skill and learning to swim too. I know as a parent that I would always want my chld to be safe in the water & this represents a huge part of our teaching,
Most importantly we want your babies & Toddlers to learn to love the water in our fun but carefully structured classes.
I love being in the water and I adore children, so I am looking forward to meeting you & your precious little ones in one of our baby & toddler swimming classes soon.
Take a look at our pools, I'm sure we have the ideal class for your little one.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all.
Cate x
Franchise contact info
Cate Woodrow-Smith
37 Netherside Drive, Chellaston, Derby DE73 6QU
Tel: 01332 605729
Email this franchisee »
Latest news
Olivia's Story
Cate and Olivia enjoying a cuddle in the water
Olivia is Franchisee Cate's daughter and they have been swimming together since she was 6 weeks old. Cate says "It’s fair to say we have never missed a week where we have swum together. (well apart from when she had Chicken Pox!) Being in the pool together has always been our favourite activity"
She continues "On holiday last year Olivia jumped in the pool on our first day, there was a gasp from the side of the pool as a man jumped in after her but was amazed to see her turn around and swim back to the side with a big grin on her face, I of course knew what she was capable of and how confident she is in the water and it’s all down to babies & toddlers swimming as early as possible. Needless to say the parents were impressed & I was a very proud Mummy."
I look forward to meeting yours babies & toddlers in the pool where we will learn new skills but have loads of fun too
Posted on 14th July 2009
Baby Swim Business Wins Three Major Nominations for National Awards
Puddle Ducks are thrilled to have been nominated in three categories in the ‘What’s on 4’ 2010 Awards:
1) Best National Baby & Toddler Development Activity (newborn to 2 years)
2) Best National Pre-schooler Development Activity (2 to 5 years)
3) Most Outstanding Activity Leader for the Under 5s (Ali Beckman)
These awards are voted for by parents across the country – last year Puddle Ducks reached the finals and we are so excited about the possibility of winning a category this year.
PLEASE VOTE for Puddle Ducks now!
Posted on 15th March 2010 by Jo Stone
Puddle Ducks makes you smile
Puddle Ducks makes you smile
Take a look at our video "Puddle Ducks make you smile" on You Tube. Its impossible to watch without smiling .......
Posted on 23rd June 2009 by Jo Stone
Working with Puddle Ducks
Do you have what it takes to become a Puddle Ducks teacher ?
Derby are on the recruitment trail now for our next teacher to take part in one of our forthcoming training courses, we are actively seeking to recruit a teacher in the High Peak & staffordshire parts of our territory to really grow our business.
Do you have a desire to work with chidren ?
Are you energetic/lively & love being in the water ?
Are you looking for a hugely rewarding career, that promotes confidence & safety in the water for babies & children & is tremendous fun too ?
Yes, please get in touch with Cate on 01332 605729 for a chat
Any Pools?
Do you know of a pool we could hire
We are a rapidly growing franchise. If you know of anyone who would like to hire a pool to us, we would love to be introduced to them!
Many Thanks
Cate
Staff changes at Puddle Ducks Derbyshire
We currently in the process of training two new teachers who will be ready to teach & develop their own clases from January 2012, they are Jane Leyland & Nadia Soars, you will be seeing lots of them in your classes as they learn the ropes \7 get to know some of you who will joining them in the new term.
We also welcome a new member of staff to the team & I am utterly thrilled to have found someone who I know will be an invaluable team member in helping me sort out my ever growing administration work-load, welcome Sarah Jones we are very lucky to have you on board.
Derby Franchise wins award at the 2012 conference
Cate was delighted to be presented with an award at the annual Franchise confrerence for achiveing the highest re-enrolment percentage rate of 82 %, "I put this down to our customer loyalty as we know they love their classes & keep coming back for more fun", we love to watch them grow& develop in the class & to be honest we get very attached to our litle swimmers .
Underwater Photo shoot
Our next shoot is coming up SOON, Sat 18th February at the Thistle Hotel Pool East Midlands Airport, all Puddle Ducks eligible customers who are joining us for the new term will be invited along by email (these will go out in Dec)
New classses for next term (Feb 20120
Our most luxurious pool at Butterley Grange Ripley !
We are adding on some extra classes next term at our gorgeous private pool in Ripley "Butterley Grange" the class size here is smaller than our usual with a maximum of 6 parents & babies/toddlers per session, so it has that exclusive feel, we are enrolling for our new term now !
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Royal Derby Pool |
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Otium Leisure Centre |
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Woodlands School Pool |
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Waterhouses Pool |
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Etwall Primary School |
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Gayton Swimming Pool |
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Butterley Grange |
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Local links
Craft Island
Jacqui mum to Benson (lovely Splasher) has sent me her link with some gorgeous crafts & creation projects/scrapbooks & ideas plus events...take a look !
NHS details on immunizations & guidelines for baby swimming
We are often asked the question can my baby go swimming before they have had their 1st round of imminizations, well here is th elow down fro the NHS !
Visit NHS details on immunizations & guidelines for baby swimming website »
Cine Babies
Cine Babies Screenings
Bring your baby to a grown-up screening!
Special monthly screenings for parents/ carers with babies under 12 months. A modified environment screening with house lights slightly raised and sound lowered.
To enable entrance to these exclusive screenings, parents/ carers can join QUAD's Cine Babies club for free - please bring in proof of baby's age when joining.
Puddle Ducks Derbyshire facebook page !
Here you will find all of our latest news too, hot off the press, post your feedback here too
Photo gallery
Almost there
Ready Jump !
A splashing good time !
Hello Puddle the duck!
My super swimmer Olivia !
Dive down for it !
Look I'm swimming on my own Mum !
3 Puddle Ducks......
A Dipper on her Sea-horse !
Testimonials
We would like to thank the Puddle Ducks team, particularly Ann-Marie for giving such good fun lessons during this term. We have enjoyed them all very much, learning swimming with Puddle Ducks has given Francesca a very good grounding in learning to swim and confidence in water.
We will certainly recommend Puddle Ducks to people we know.
by Trang mum to Francesca one of our Kickers !
Holly has loved being at Puddleducks, and we have enjoyed her time also - we both thank you for the time and effort put in to teaching Holly both swimming techniques and most importantly confidence in the water.
by Chris Dad to Holly (Little Dipper)
Nominated by Lisa & James Singleton
Award nomination made by Lisa Singleton, Mum to James Singleton (3)
By way of background, we joined Puddleducks half way through the spring term. Up until that point we had been attending a similar, but different, baby swimming course, and James had begun to develop several things he really disliked about the swimming. The main thing being the 'forced' submersion. He absolutely refused to go under the water in that way (although would sometimes jump in). This resulted in him I think having trust issues especially with the teacher and then we were unable to do very much constructively with him because he was scared of going underwater.
So, we decided to give Puddleducks a go and began attending Anne-Marie's Little Dippers lessons at Butterley Grange (on a Thursday at 10am. Well, frankly, you would not believe if you saw James swimming now that it was the same little boy. My husband is astounded at the progress he has made in a relatively short time. Literally within a few weeks, he was coming on in leaps and bounds and has continued to do so. Anne-Marie has worked with him on his confidence and has really supported him. He can now jump in unaided, blow bubbles with his face fully in the water, will HAPPILY float on his back (definitely a new one for him!), and perhaps most importantly has gained the confidence to swim nice and flat on his front (whereas he used to arch his back for fear of going under).
He absolutely adores the lessons, and this was demonstrated when we returned from the summer break and Anne-Marie got the same sort of welcome from James that his favourite Grandparents get!
The thing I found most astounding about all of this was when I recently learned that it is only a year ago that Anne-Marie BEGAN her training, so she has been teaching for somewhat less than a year on her own. She has such a natural way with the children and is a great 'firm but fair' teacher in a way that really gets the children to listen and learn but still enjoy it all.
We can't begin to thank Anne-Marie for the way she has developed James' swimming and the confidence she has already instilled in him. We are currently expecting our second child and I am looking forward to signing him or her up to be a little Puddleduck too!
Nominated by Kelly, Chris & Holly Leeder
Our daughter Holly did not start classes until she was 3 and was petrified of putting her face in the water. Ann-Marie was patient and thoughtful, praising Holly for small achievements and encouraging her. Holly now swims independently (9 months later!) and is happy under the water. What a water angel Ann Marie is!
by Lisa Singleton & Chris & kelly Leeder, Ann-Marie recieved two nominations for teacher of the term !
We all love Noah's swimming classes and it is great to see him grow in confidence in the water. It is the most enjoyable activity we have as a family. The classes are fun and the exercises are considerably more beneficial to Noah than just having a splash in a public swimming pool. Our photographs from the over and underwater photo-shoots are really treasured and will be for many years to come.
by Jo-Ann Hawksworth - Mum to Noah, splasher who will graduate to Kickers sep 2011 !
Isabel really enjoys her swimming sessions and I have really been able to see her progress in what seem leaps and bounds. The classes have also given me lots of ideas of things I can do with Isabel when I take her to our local pool, making our time together really pleasurable. I truely believe that attending the puddleduck classes have really helped Isabel "catch-up" in her skills and abilities generally, as she was 7 weeks premature when born.
by Laura Turland, Mum to Isabel (Floaite) soon graduating to become a Splasher !
I am currently still in my first term with Puddleducks after going to a clas since Holly was 18 weeks old (she is now just under 27 months) and I think the class is fantastic and is far more suited to Holly as I hoped it would be. I think alot of this is down to the very small class size at Butterley Grange and the fact that it is such a lovely pool, I also think Ann-Marie is a fantastic teacher who Holly quickly warmed to and that Holly is coming on leaps and bounds since coming to these classes so thank you!
by Louise - Mum to Holly Bell Morris (Little Dipper)
Melissa wrote
"Just wanted to share my experience with Puddleducks in Derby with teacher Cate. Our little Annie was 18 months before we tried her in a pool on holiday. It was a complete nightmare! Annie screamed the place down, we left in a hurry! Not long after we took the plunge (!) and signed up to classes with Puddleducks. The first term with Kickers was up and down with Annie having quite a few tantrums, but Cate's advice to just enjoy ourselves was the turning point. Since then Annie has loved every single class. Annie's confidence has really grown generally thanks to the class and she's often the loudest singer in the pool. As I work full time it gives me chance to have some fun time with her and I just love the classes - hopefully her baby brother will be starting in the summer and I will get 2 chances to splash around and have fun! Melissa
by Melissa Bonsall - Mum to Annie Little Dipper
