Are STA's Swimming Teaching qualifications recognised?

Today, STA still remains the only Awarding Organisation to offer two Level 2 swimming teaching qualifications, and the latest figures from Ofqual, show that STA delivered 50% of all the Level 2 CIMSPA-endorsed swimming teaching qualifications in England in 2022, with 100% of our teachers able to directly teach on poolside and having an impact on millions of people’s lives.

Facts about the STA Level 2 Award in Teaching Swimming Qualification

• It is endorsed against the CIMSPA Swimming Teacher Professional Standard, which means it meets the professional standards developed by employers and industry experts for swimming teachers, in relation to what learners need to know, understand and demonstrate in order to be ‘work-ready’ when completing a qualification.
• It is an Ofqual regulated Level 2 qualification (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland), which means holders of the qualification are qualified to teach from within the water or from the poolside independently – it is NOT an assistant teacher qualification.
• *In Scotland, the Level 2 Award in Teaching Swimming qualification is accredited by SQA Accreditation and levelled at SCQF Level 6.
• It has been designed to train teachers how to teach swimming rather than how to teach a specific learn to swim award scheme. This last point is important as people will often ask, and confuse the conversation by asking what level of a learn to swim scheme can an Award teacher teach up to it – the levelling, yes, is important to know from a practical workforce point of view, but it’s not a simple like for like ‘traditional’ comparison as I’ll explain later.
• It is recognised by all the members of the International Federation of Swimming Teachers Association (IFSTA) – more than 22 countries.