Child Safety Swim and Survive: swimming lessons for WA babies and toddlers, and how to find a good swim school
Royal Life Saving's Swim and Survive and Infant Aquatics lessons start at 6 months, with you in the water beside your child. What your child learns at each age, how to find a Royal Life Saving WA endorsed swim school near you, and what to ask before you pay.
A baby can start swimming lessons at 6 months. Not to learn freestyle: to learn that water is something you get into slowly, with a grown-up, and that you can float on your back and turn to the wall. That is what Swim and Survive teaches, the learn-to-swim program from Royal Life Saving, the charity behind Keep Watch and Heart Beat Club.
In WA, Royal Life Saving endorses swim schools that teach its programs. Its map shows every one, in Perth and the country.
Find an endorsed swim school near you
What it is
Swim and Survive is a swimming and water safety program for every age, from babies to teenagers. Children learn to swim, and also how to get in and out of water safely, float, stay calm, and later how to help someone else.
The program follows the National Swimming and Water Safety Framework, which sets benchmarks for children at 6, 12 and 17. Royal Life Saving says more than 450,000 children take part across Australia. Lessons in it are GST-free, because they teach survival skills.
Who it is for
For young children there are two stages.
6 months to 3 years: you get in too. A parent or carer is in the water for every lesson. In WA, endorsed schools teach this age through Infant Aquatics, six "duck" stages from under 12 months to 3 years and over, built on songs and games. Your child learns to:
- get into and out of the water safely
- float on their front and back
- roll and turn in the water
- kick and paddle
- blow bubbles, then go under, only when they are ready
3 to 5 years: preschool. Your child swims with the teacher in a small class while you watch and cheer. They learn floating and getting upright again on their own, gliding and kicking, first strokes, simple survival skills, and who to ask for help. Nervous beginners can start in a transition class with a parent in the water.
From 5, children move up the Swim and Survive levels. There are 16 in all, ending in lifesaving and rescue skills.
What it costs
Each swim school sets its own price, so ask when you call. Royal Life Saving runs some classes itself, including its Churchlands and Dianella swim schools and multicultural swimming programs; you enrol in those through its own booking site.
Families who can't easily get to lessons, including people new to Australia, people with disability and remote communities, are the focus of the WA Swim and Survive Fund. Community groups working with these families can apply to it for a grant.
How to start, step by step
- Open the endorsed swim school map and search your suburb or postcode.
- Pick two or three close to home. A pool you can get to every week matters more than a fancy one.
- Ring each and ask: which stage suits my child's age, how many children are in a class, is the water warm, and what does a term cost?
- Ask about a free assessment or a trial. In January 2026 Royal Life Saving WA ran Swim School Open Days at schools from Wanneroo to Busselton, with free swim assessments, games and giveaways. Check the open days page for next summer's list.
- Bring swimmers, a towel, a warm layer for after, and for babies, a swim nappy.
For Royal Life Saving's own classes, call 9383 8200.
Lessons are not a fence
Lessons make children safer around water. They do not make a toddler water-safe. A child who swims beautifully at lessons can still slip into the bath or the pool when no one is looking.
So keep doing the other things too: a fence and a self-closing gate around any pool, an adult watching within arm's reach, and CPR you have practised. Our post on pool fences and Keep Watch covers the first two. For CPR, the free Heart Beat Club online course takes about an hour, and the hands-on class lets you practise on a baby manikin.
When your child turns 5, VacSwim adds low-cost holiday lessons on top.
Find an endorsed swim school near you
Sources
- Royal Life Saving WA: Swim and Survive (16 levels, development strands, endorsed swim schools use qualified instructors and small classes, National Framework benchmarks at 6, 12 and 17)
- Royal Life Saving WA: Infant Aquatics (parent or carer in the water, six learning areas, six duck stages from under 12 months to 3 years and over)
- Royal Life Saving Australia: Swim and Survive (more than 450,000 children, GST-free, age groups 6 months to 13+)
- Royal Life Saving Australia: Swim and Survive for infants and toddlers (6 months to 3 years, in-water parent, what your child learns)
- Royal Life Saving Australia: Swim and Survive for preschool (3 to 5 years, independent participation, small classes, transition level)
- Royal Life Saving WA: Find a swim school (endorsed swim schools across Perth and regional WA, locator map)
- Royal Life Saving WA: Swimming lessons (Royal Life Saving's own classes, Churchlands and Dianella swim schools, multicultural programs)
- Royal Life Saving WA: Swim School Open Days (January 2026 dates and venues, free assessments, locator by suburb or postcode)
- Royal Life Saving WA: WA Swim and Survive Fund (disadvantage, culturally diverse, disability and remote communities, grants for community groups)
- Royal Life Saving WA: Contact us (9383 8200, 12 McGillivray Road, Mount Claremont)