WHO ARE WE?
"Leisure based qualifications"
We’re a training company that focuses on leisure based qualifications, that’s just a fancy way of saying that we deliver first aid, lifeguard and swim teacher courses for leisure centres mostly. You will find us based in the north-west of England but we often work all over the country. It’s a small team and we like it that way as this means we get to know our customers and they get to know us (no waiting on hold whilst you speak with the umpteenth person in a row). We support a range of leisure centres and can be found regularly in our recurring venues around Liverpool & Manchester (check out the where to find us section of our website to locate us).
Meet the team
Graeme
Trainer
Assessor
Admin
Reception
Whether you are enquiring via emails, engaging with our social media posts or attending a course then most likely you are interacting with Graeme.
Graeme has been a leisure based trainer since 2013 and in that time he has worked in a variety of environments, from small community pools to large nationally recognised swim schools, and now running Three Whistles Training company with some of the very best people around him.
"I started out as a lifeguard many years (decades) ago, and found that soon after I was interested in becoming a swimming teacher. I’d like to say that this came naturally as I’d been in the swim club and knew my strokes but the truth was I was a nervous kid who still had so much to learn."
"Over time I’ve taught lessons in a number of styles from strict, playful, energetic or technical and this has allowed me to find my own approach. This is one of the biggest bits of advice I give during a course, you need to find your own way of teaching in a way that you feel entirely comfortable."
"From swim teaching I discovered that no matter what I’m teaching, the role can be super rewarding, so it’s no surprise that I wanted to develop further into a tutor/trainer to work with older learners. Initially with RLSS lifeguard courses, then first aid courses and finally delivering Swim England swim teacher courses. I genuinely enjoy helping others grow and develop themselves, so hopefully I will continue to plan and deliver courses for years to come (see you on a course soon)."
Coming soon
Trainer – Andy
Keep checking here for Andy's bio
Quality Assurance - Wendy
Keep checking here for Wendy's bio
Our approach is "All fun and games"
There’s a simple idea in education that children learn faster and are more engaged if they are having fun and its so true, but it’s also true for grown ups. I’ve attended countless training sessions over the years and the ones I remember the most (as in, learnt the most) are the ones which I had fun myself. This is something we try to bring to all our training sessions, a level of fun that helps you retain the knowledge needed. Yes of course we cover some very serious topics at times and it’s not always appropriate to be playing games so when the time is needed we can be reserved, but we will always strive to do this in a way that is engaging for the learner.
When it comes to making session engaging then we like to provide a variety of approaches (not just power point slides) each designed to keep you engaged in a particular way. During a course you may find yourself doing…
Poster creation – allows learners to express their creative sides and work with others.
Micro presentations – allows learners to express their understanding in a verbal way whilst building confidence speaking to groups.
Playing with lego (I’m not joking) – allows learners to break down problems into sizeable parts (literally) and see things from different perspectives before reassembling the pieces.
Movie making – allowing learners to recap their own understanding in a visual form whilst exploring their physical demonstrations.
Practical shadowing – learning from seeing what others do, safe in the knowledge that you have a safety net of someone with you for support.
Role play – exaggerated scenarios allowing learners to choose from their current (or newly acquired) skill set and apply these skills to new situations.
Traditional question and answer – allowing learners a calm environment to write down their understanding of topics in a way that aids comprehension.
So you might think from the outside looking in that it’s all fun and games, and you’d be totally correct. We want everyone to learn in the way that is best for them, so hopefully we will see you on a course soon.
