The Swimming Teachers' Association has launched the Official Water Safety Programme for People with Disabilities, to help make the sport accessible and enjoyable for all ages and abilities.

The scheme called the Penguin Series, has two programmes the Emperor Series and the Rockhopper Series, which focus on enhancing swimming performance and basic water safety skills respectively.

The Emperor Series concentrates on increasing a swimmers stamina, strength and distance from five metres to 400 metres, while the Rockhopper Series will teach the basic swimming and safety skills using a mix of lessons, activities and rewards across nine progressive levels.

The programmes have been developed in conjunction with schools for people with disabilities and Star College Cheltenham.

Irene Joyce, STA's technical swimming and aquatics officer, said: "The Penguin Series has been designed to give teachers a structure and attainable goals that will stimulate their students and enhance their time in the aquatic environment."