About Working At Dipadees!

The team at dipadees fulfill many different rolls, from teaching babies and toddlers through to coaching junior squads, administration and management. The different rolls require different sets of skills and qualifications. To help you decide which age group or groups you might be interested in teaching we've set out a little info on each group.

Baby and Toddler Swim Teacher

Our baby and toddler teachers undergo training in early childhood development as it pertains to swimming and the emotional needs of babies and toddlers.  They need to be caring, friendly, empathetic and understand the needs of parents with young children. They will also need to know how to introduce and build safety skills to these little tots.

The dipadees Baby and Toddler Swim Program includes babies from three months of age to 3 ½ or 4 years with the parents in the water helping their child lean to swim. This means that teachers of these delightful classes need to have a very good rapport with parents.

Our Baby and Toddler Program is playful and child-centered, with developmentally appropriate activities to help the children learn. 

Baby and Toddler teacher shifts generally fall between 9.00am and 12.00 noon Monday to Friday mornings, and Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7.00am to 11.30am

Qualifications for Baby and Toddler teachers include, but are not limited to, either the Swim Australia or Austswim Teacher of Babies and Toddlers. 

Course dates and costs can be found at SwimAustralia and Austswim.

Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety

Once a child graduates to a parent out of the water class, they will be working with their teacher to learn more advanced safety skills and swim strokes while mum and dad watch from the side.
 
Teachers of swimming and water safety need the ability to make the class fun and engaging, keep the class moving, have a wonderful rapport with the children and be accomplished at getting the very best from each child.

These teachers are 'masters of class control' in the nicest possible way. They have a very good understanding of the swim strokes and safety skills, and know how to build and correct strokes in an easy to understand, and interesting way.

Teacher of swimming and water safety shifts generally cover the mornings and after school time slots, including Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Qualifications for a teacher of swimming and water safety include, but are not limited to, the SwimAustralia Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety, or the Austswim Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety.

Course dates and costs can be found at SwimAustralia and Austswim.

Teacher of Competitive Strokes

Once accomplished at teaching swimming, many teachers like to add the qualification of Teacher of Competitive Strokes.
This qualification is a great professional development add-on for swim teachers, as it delves deeper into the science of swimming.

Typically this is the minimum qualification required for our Super Dipper and Missile programs, where children swim laps and refine their swim skills.
 
Teacher of Competitive Stroke hours usually fall into the after school hours and Saturday or Sunday mornings.

Course dates and costs for the Teacher of Competitive Strokes qualification can be found on SwimAustralia and Austswim.

Swim Coach

Our swim coaches need to have an advanced level of stroke refinement knowledge as well as an understanding of the physiology and how the body works. 

Swim coaches typically run race nights and mini meets, and often take the time to support their swimmers by attending school swim carnivals.

Our coaches usually work after school hours Monday to Friday.

Qualification course dates and costs can be found on Ascta.

Is there anything else I need?

Many swim teachers hold multiple qualifications.  As a dipadees swim teacher you will need:

• A Working with Children Blue Card
• A current CPR Certificate
• A Pool Lifeguard qualification is desirable
• A First Aid Certificate is also very desirable

The interview processs

Dipadees Swim School has a three-step interview process:

1. An invitation to attend one of our in-house teacher training sessions. This is designed to help you to develop a better understanding of the science behind learn to swim and feel what it’s like to work in the water. 
   
   These sessions are between one and three hours long. Many applicants take away valuable knowledge from this session, even if they don't continue! 
   
   If both parties are happy, you will then receive an invitation to join us again for a second wet interview. 
   
   
2. Your second wet interview will include observing dipadees classes in action from the side of the pool and then joining the teacher in the water. This will help you to understand the nature of working with children in the water.  
   
   
3. If both parties are happy you will then be invited to a third in-water session with one of our experienced teachers.  

By now we hope to see you feeling comfortable and relaxed enough to show us how you interact with the children. Don’t worry, we won’t be asking you to take the class! We just want all parties to be confident that this position is the right fit for you. 

Signing on!
Assuming we are all happy and this position is a good fit for you, we will sign you on. You will need to book into a qualification course as soon as possible. You can only take classes once qualified.  

Once employed, we will provide you with a minimum of sixty hours of in-house swim teacher training so that you can teach the dipadees way. This sixty hours is above and beyond any hours required for your qualifications. You can see we like our teachers to be well trained!

You’ve read this far and the big question is, would you like to apply to become a dipadees swim teacher? 

To arrange an interview please fill in our pre-interview form below and we’ll be in touch shortly.

Contact us today if you know someone who may be interested in working at Dipadees, or call 07 3355 1550.