Octoplus Swim School

17/09/2026

The Surrey charity trains swim teachers to support children with special educational needs.

01/09/2026

Our Getting to Know Your Child questionnaire has had a revamp…

We’ve always asked families to tell us about their child before they begin swimming with OctoPLUS.

Because we need to know far more than whether a child can swim.

How do they communicate? What helps them feel safe? What do they enjoy? What are their sensory needs? What have previous swimming experiences been like? And, importantly, what does meaningful progress look like for this particular child and family?

That part hasn’t changed, but What has changed is what we hope to learn from it.

Our new questionnaire launched today, will still help us get to know and support every individual child who comes through our doors. But it will also become part of our growing Evidence & Impact work, helping us look more systematically at the bigger picture.

Because we keep coming back to one really important question:

What about the children who aren’t in the pool yet?

What stops children accessing swimming lessons in the first place?

Cost? Availability? Sensory environments? Communication differences? A lack of appropriate adjustments? Previous negative experiences? A mainstream lesson model that simply hasn’t worked for them?

And when children do access appropriate provision, are we measuring all the things that actually matter?

Swimming is about more than strokes and distance.

We want to understand confidence, participation, safety, regulation, communication, autonomy, enjoyment — and the changes that children and families themselves tell us are important.

And this work isn't happening in isolation.

Our partners at Level Water are part of a much wider national movement to address inequalities in access to swimming. Level Water is a member of the Swimming Alliance, originally convened by Sport England and Level Water founder Ian Thwaites chairs its inclusion work. Level Water has also been involved alongside Swim England, Neurodiverse Sport and other inclusion specialists in work exploring how aquatic environments and teaching can create better experiences for neurodivergent participants.

The scale of the challenge is significant. has reported thousands of children waiting for appropriate swimming provision, and 60% of parents on its waiting lists said they were unaware of another suitable physical activity for their child locally.

That matters.

My academic background is in social science research, anthropology, human rights and inclusive education and I believe we have an important opportunity here at OctoPLUS to add to this growing body of knowledge.

Not by setting out to prove that we has all the answers.

But by doing something deceptively simple:

Understand → Measure → Evaluate → Improve.

By listening carefully to families, collecting information consistently and following children's experiences over time, we can begin to build a clearer picture of who is struggling to access swimming, why, what helps, and what meaningful progress can actually look like when the right support is available.

As that evidence grows, we hope it can contribute beyond our own pools too — feeding into wider conversations about inclusive practice, provision, funding and ultimately policy.

Because our commitment isn't only to the child already swimming in front of us.

It's also to every child who isn't in the pool yet.

And every family who shares their experience with us helps us understand a little more about what needs to change.

OctoPLUS — Swim, just be.

You can read more about the wider work of our partners at Level Water's Impact work and the Swimming Alliance

31/08/2026

For all our new customers starting with us over the next couple of weeks... and for those of you returning! Here is a visual guide with all that you need to know before your lesson - whether its your first ever with us or your first back after the long sunny summer holidays. Email will be sent with more details!

29/08/2026

Funny how my sister 32 years ago was doing swim related things here in Kent too!

⏪ Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies official opens Contours Gym at Stour Leisure Centre, circa 1994.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Cochrane.

27/08/2026

We made this film for the kids. It allows THEM to FEEL what it's like to swim and splash with us at octoPLUS.

There are no words. Nothing they need to understand or take in.

Just a chance to see our Frith Farm House pool we use.
To sense the quiet and the space.
To see the play and the connection.
To understand the trusting relationship with the teacher.
To get excited about freedom to move, explore and have fun.

And also for them to know that they can... just be.

For all our new swimmers joining us this September, please show this to your children before they come. Let them see the pool and the people, and begin to make it familiar.

And if you’re thinking about joining OctoPLUS, perhaps watch it with your child. Rather than only asking yourself “Is this the right swim school for my child?”, give them the chance to see it too.

Can they imagine themselves here?

With huge thanks to for helping us bringing this vision to life and to his wonderful daughter - star of the show! Big thanks to Andy Tuohy for our amazing logo and to Scutty Lee Music for the final editing touches, helping us create something special 💗

24/07/2026

Exciting Things Are Happening at OctoPLUS! 🐙
We're growing... and it's time for the next chapter!

Over the past few months we've been working hard behind the scenes to make your experience with OctoPLUS even better, and we're so excited to finally share it with you.

✨ From today we're moving over to our brand new customer portal powered by Soakly.

This means everything will be in one place, making life easier for both current and future families.

You'll soon be able to:

Join our waiting list online
Book lessons more easily
View your swimmer's milestones and achievements
Track progress over time
Access all your lesson information in one place
Receive updates and communications more efficiently

This is a huge step forward for OctoPLUS and will help us continue to grow while keeping everything running smoothly.

And that's not all...

- A brand new look is on its way with our exciting new logo!

- New Tuesday classes launch in September.

- Our wonderful team is growing with more teachers joining us.

- We're expanding our pool time so we can welcome even more amazing swimmers and families.

👇👇***Joining our waiting list*** 👇👇

CLICK HERE: https://octoplus-swim-school.soak.ly/ #/online-booking

When you click the booking link, you'll see what looks like an available lesson date and time - the system has to display a sample slot as part of the registration process, but it does not mean you're booking THAT lesson.

Simply follow the instructions to join, complete your details and you'll be added to our waiting list. As soon as a suitable space becomes available, we'll be in touch to discuss the best option for you.

We genuinely can't wait for you to see what's coming next.

Thank you for being part of our OctoPLUS journey. 💙

06/07/2026

Sometimes the biggest achievements in our OctoPLUS lessons have nothing to do with swimming. Anyone interested in teaching methods for PDA kids, this is for you...

A parent sent me this after her son's lesson, and with her permission I'd love to share part of it...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I wish that I had recorded the way that George was just talking about himself after that swimming lesson... "

I have copied in a teacher that George gets on well with, as we have recently been discussing my concerns over his self esteem, and how he sees himself.

For context, George had a swimming lesson with a young boy in which he was " the teacher".

George was analysing how he is able to understand children like him ( with autism/ adhd) and how he is "really skilled" at helping people because he can relate to them and he knows what it's like to feel scared of swimming lessons.

He was talking about how proud he is that he has helped to look after his younger brother and that it has made him a good teacher and a kind person. I didn't prompt any of the things he said. It was all his excitement.

It was a glimmer of joy and hope to hear how he spoke about himself, grinning with pride.

Yourself [Lissa] and Lorna are wonderful with the boys, allowing them to regulate, learn and enjoy their lessons.

You do so much for their wellbeing.

Thank you ladies! :)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Reading this made my heart burst...I thought I was going to have to an ambulance on myself. So much of our methodology is about putting the child's wellbeing FIRST.

George is a child with PDA, and like many children we work with, being taught can sometimes feel uncomfortable or demanding. So sometimes, we gently change the dynamic.

Instead of always being the learner, the child gets the opportunity to become the teacher.

During this particular lesson, another younger swimmer was feeling nervous and wasn't responding to the teacher's encouragement. George could see what was happening and wanted to come alongside him and help, which we encouraged knowing how it could potentially benefit both.

George quietly demonstrated what to do, spoke to him with such kindness and understanding and within moments, the little boy gave it a try.

It wasn't because George knew more than we did. It was because George knew what it felt like.

He understood the fear and he recognised the uncertainty. He knew how to make another child feel safe because he'd been in that position before.

In that one moment, two children grew.

One found the confidence to try and the other discovered that his experiences - often the very things that make his life harder - had become his greatest strength.

This is why, at OctoPLUS, we don't always focus solely on teaching children to swim.

We often step back to create opportunities for children to discover what they're capable of, not because we tell them they can, but because they experience it for themselves.

Teaching stroke, yes, is important. But confidence, self-belief, empathy and purpose are the things that stay with a child long after they leave the pool.

And perhaps that's one of the greatest gifts we can give them: helping them realise that the things they once saw as their biggest challenges may one day become the very reason they can change somebody else's world.

P.S. Before anyone reports us to HR... don't worry, we're not replacing our teachers with children just yet! 😄 Although, if George ever asks for a pay rise, we might have to negotiate in Haribo... 🍬😉

P.P.S Thank you Level Water for continuing to support us with our methods of teaching, and making lessons accessible to our swimmers.