My name is Amanda and live in Co. Kilkenny. I have the privilege of working with Water Babies Ireland South East.
I first started with Water Babies back in 2014. I had just come back from a year in Australia and was looking to work in a job that I loved rather than just going through the motions. Before I left, I had qualified as a Social Care worker, so I really wanted to start getting involved in working with people as that was always my passion in life. I was extremely fortunate to meet Elaine and George who are the franchisees for Water Babies South East, who were looking for someone to start working in the office as the Client Services Manager.
As part of my training, I visited many of our pools and from the very first day at a pool in Kilkenny I completely fell in love with everything Water Babies. I was totally amazed at what these babies and toddlers could do in water at such a young age. It put a smile my face looking at their happy little faces and seeing them bond with their parents. I worked in the office during the week and the highlight was visiting pools at the start of each term so I could watch the classes in action! At that time, I lived in Wexford and driving to some of the pools meant up to an hour and a half in the car, however I never felt phased by the journey as I loved where I was driving to.
I always knew that becoming a teacher was something I wanted to do so when the opportunity came around there was no hesitation from me. I was fully aware at this stage the work involved to become a teacher after seeing four teachers qualify with us since I started, however I felt it was all worth it. I started my journey in May 2017 when I received my pre-course work. From there I completed 1 week in Devon, England, post course work, 20 assessed lessons (4 of which had to be recorded for examination), 3 assessed mentored lessons and my life saving qualification. It was a tough five months but that made receiving my swimming teaching qualification even more satisfying.
In November 2017, I started my very own baby swimming classes in Waterford. I had taught many classes at this point, but these felt so different. These were my classes. To swim a baby underwater for the first time and to be trusted by the parents was an incredible feeling. My heart burst with pride every time they passed little milestone in the classes. I always teach in the morning and then go back to the office where Elaine would then have to listen to me gushing over my classes that day.
I’ve now been teaching babies for three and a half years and I have loved every minute. From my very first term where I started with chapter 1 classes to now having taught them up to Chapter 11. I am so proud to see how far the kids have come. Not only am I teaching them a life skill, but knowing that I am the very first teacher they will ever have is very special. They welcome you into their life with stories from home and love showing you how well they can do their skills.
This is way more than just a job – I’m so passionate about teaching baby swimming and I feel a huge sense of pride in what I do.
