Water play in the Early Years

With the weather getting warmer, there’s nothing like bringing out the water play table to cool off your class. But what makes water play so enticing to children? And what about keeping everyone safe?

I met with the founder of Mini Water Adventurers, Helen Hughes, to learn more about water play and water wisdom.

Helen has been a swimming teacher for over 30 years, as well as having been a PE teacher, and sports science lecturer. Nowadays, Helen is an “aquatics play practitioner” with her own “Play, Learn, Swim” framework. She’s designed courses, workshops, and online lesson idea bundles for swimming teachers, and works hard to emphasise the importance of water and play as educational tools.

Let’s hear “water” she had to say…

Science with a splash

The benefits of water play include boosting fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination to promoting imaginative play and social skills. However, what Helen is really passionate about is the joy at the heart of it.

“Children just enjoy water, and I think that's what childhood's all about - playing and exploring in different ways. But water just gives a different dynamic to play. When they come across water, they almost “change”. You can see their excitement.”

But it doesn't have to be all bubbles and splashing; water can often be immersive and calming too. When children are focused and engaged, deep learning can happen, so it makes sense that something as intriguing as water provides the perfect backdrop. 

“Even Einstein used to go out on the water,” smiles Helen, “If he needed to think deeply about something, he used to go out on his boat.”

So, how can we make the most of water play in our settings? Helen's created her own resources to boost learning opportunities in and around water, which you can find on her facebook page, but here are a few of her favourites.

Water safety and ‘water wisdom’

Helen Hughes aims to change the approach to water safety education from fear-based to a love and understanding of water.  Water should be respected, but Helen doesn't believe in rushing children into learning to swim out of fear of drowning. Instead, she recommends learning ‘water wisdom’ through everyday activities like bath time and water play in containers.

Helen describes the children, the educators, and the parents and carers as the  "circle of success" - children should be allowed to enjoy and explore without pressure, but always under direct supervision. Everyone needs to work in partnership to support early water education and ultimately, reduce drowning rates.

“I really believe it needs to start right from the beginning, in schools, and the Early Years, because then water safety becomes second-nature to children. It becomes built-in, just like putting a seat belt on.”

When should children learn to swim?

Surely, the answer to increasing drowning rates would be to teach children to swim as early as possible? Actually, says Helen, it’s better to wait.

“It's really good to go to parent and baby swim class, but the teacher should be teaching the adults, not the children,” explains Helen.

In fact, Helen recommends delaying formal swimming lessons for children until around five years old, as younger children should have their parent or carer present. Families should check class ratios when choosing a swim school - Helen recommends a maximum of six children per adult teacher. You can find out more from Swim England or the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA).

“If you want your child to have lessons, where a parent or carer drops the child off and leaves, I would recommend leaving it as long as possible,” says Helen. “In the water, younger children need their parent or a trusted person to be with them. But a lot of the time, swim schools don’t allow that.”

Top water safety tips for parents and Early Years educators

So what can we do in the Early Years to support children to keep safe in and around water?

Well, Early Years educators can access free drowning prevention resources for 3 - 5-year-olds from the Royal Life Saving Society UK or water safety resources from the RNLI, for 3 - 7-year-olds. And, here are Helen’s top water safety tips to get you started.

• Learn about your local water bodies
  If your setting or home is near a body of water, or you’re likely to be visiting one soon, make sure you’re familiar with the environment and any potential hazards ahead of time.
• CPR saves lives
  If you’re supervising children near water, learn first aid, including CPR.
• You don’t need a pool
  Water safety can be taught through land-based activities and games, making it accessible even when swimming facilities are not available. For example, support children to use a stick to test the depth of water by practising in your setting with various containers.
• Consider the colour of swimwear for children.
  Vibrant, fluorescent swimwear colours are best for visibility in water. Even if you’re not taking children swimming in your Early Years setting, this is a key thing to remind parents and carers of. This article has some great images, showing why this matters so much.
• Ditch the arm bands
  Helen doesn’t recommend armbands as a swimming aid as they restrict children’s movement too much. “You need to be able to manoeuvre,” explains Helen, “Body awareness and freedom to be able to move is so important.” Instead, look for a flotation device where children can move their arms and legs freely, like Helen’s Orca Swim trainer.
• Support children to always stay low at the water’s edge.
  “For example, teach them to lie down on their fronts so that their legs are behind them,” explains Helen, “If they’re near water and something falls in, they tend to stand on the side and then want to lean over to get it.” This can cause children to topple over and fall in, so Helen recommends supporting children to stay low and use something to hook whatever has been lost instead.
• Remind children of the golden rule
  They must never enter water without an adult present.