Struggles to travel independently

Needs to hold the wall, a helper or the teacher to move around.

Activities that help

• Across the River Relay – A team relay across a 'river' zone where feet must not touch the floor – everyone gets their feet up and travels independently.
• Animal Parade – Swimmers travel like different animals, trying out new ways of moving on the front and back.
• Colour Corners – Each corner of the area has a colour and a way of travelling; swimmers race to the called corner using the right skill.
• Crab Walk – Sideways stepping away from the wall, building balance and independence from the side.
• Follow the Leader – Swimmers copy a leader's way of moving – an easy way to practise lots of travel skills in one activity.
• Giant Steps, Fairy Steps – Varying the size and speed of steps to build balance and confidence walking in the water.
• Home Base – Swimmers are released a few metres from the wall and make their own way 'home', building confidence to travel without support.
• Island Hopping – Swimmers travel between floating 'islands' without walking, building independent front and back travel over short distances.
• Let Go of the Wall – A gradual progression from holding the wall to standing independently, using small, achievable steps.
• Moonwalk – Slow-motion backwards travel using sculling hands – a gentle intro to moving without walking.
• Motorboats – Holding a float, swimmers 'drive' their motorboat by kicking and blowing bubbles.
• Noodle Chair Paddle – Sitting in a noodle 'chair', swimmers use their hands to move themselves backwards – an early feel for sculling.
• Noodle Horse Race – Swimmers 'ride' a noodle and gallop or kick forwards – a fun way to get feet off the floor.
• Noodle Slalom – Swimmers weave in and out of a line of floating noodles, learning to steer while travelling on the front.
• Obstacle Course – A course that links several skills in a row – enter, travel, go through a hoop, collect a sinker, float and exit.
• Puppy Paddle – A simple alternating paddle under the water that gives swimmers their first independent arm propulsion on the front.
• Puppy to Crawl – Swimmers who already paddle gradually lengthen the paddle until the arm recovers over the water – a natural route to front crawl.
• Rescue the Teddy – Swimmers travel on the front to rescue a floating toy, then bring it home on their back – combining front and back travel.
• Reverse Parking – Swimmers walk backwards to 'park' in a space, building safe backward travel.
• Rocket Push – Swimmers push off the wall like a rocket into a streamlined front glide.
• Traffic Lights – A travel game where swimmers respond to colour calls – great for warm-ups and forward travel.