TEN years ago few people in Swindon had heard of tot swimming classes.

So when Claire Southworth and Steve Partridge rolled into town with their new-fangled Water Babies concept urging parents to join in and let their three-month-olds wiggle under water without armbands for "their own good", they raised a great deal of sceptical eyebrows. Babies might drop like flies, panic, drown, stop breathing, critics carped.

Of course these disaster scenarios have all been revealed as complete hogwash and over the years parents have been queuing up to get their infants started in the pool as early as possible.

A decade to the day since Water Babies’ first lesson in Blunsdon, the couple are celebrating the business’ tenth anniversary and training generations of confident swimmers.

“The market has changed so much since we started,” says Steve. “Now there are a lot of classes, but in 2006 we were the only ones doing this in Swindon.

"Children are naturally relaxed in water, they have all these natural reflexes, it made sense to get them to start very young.”

Water Babies is based on a simple observation: by the time most parents enrol their children in lessons, usually around the age of five, little ones are already past their prime swimming years, in manner of speaking.

They are more fearful and often don’t take to swimming as easily and comfortably as they would have at a younger age.

Research has shown that a majority of newborns have an innate affinity with water.

Their natural laryngeal reflex (more commonly known as the gag reflex) means they instinctively hold their breath and avoid inhaling water when submerged. Water Babies capitalises on this by teaching babies early on in lessons to control their breathing.

“Babies naturally move their arms and legs in water and have the ability to hold their breath under water,” explains Steve, 48, from Old Town. “They enjoy being supported by the water.

"They grow incredibly confident. We never use flotation devices. They start so young they have a natural confidence, they have fun, and they can swim completely on their own under water.

"But they tend to lose those instincts after a year. So three to six months is the perfect age to start.

“At five years old in mainstream classes they have this fear that protects them from drowning, yes, but they won’t be as confident, they have to overcome it first before they can start to relax and learn.”

Like most family-run businesses, Swindon’s Water Babies school started by chance.

In 2003, Claire signed up their three-month-old daughter Isabella to a pilot in Bristol for new mums and their infants, the very first Water Babies. Seeing her child thrive prompted her to look into opening and running her own franchise.

“It was an incredible experience,” says the mother-of-two, who worked as a child care officer at a special needs school before starting the business.

“I was a bit nervous at first about doing the class with my newborn baby – it’s your maternal instinct to protect your child.

"But actually you’re protecting them by taking them swimming and learning to be safe and what to do under water. I was so impressed with the classes we decided to develop it. I could see the benefit for my own child, how confident she was.”

The couple who lived in Bristol at the time settled on Swindon for their new venture. They were the eighth Water Babies franchise in the UK when they launched in 2006. Now there are more than 50 branches and countless similar groups nationwide.

They ran the business out of their bedroom and rented out pools across Swindon, Wiltshire and as far as Cheltenham.

They eventually found office space in Old Town, above what is now the Bike Rooms. Two years ago they made the pool at Hobley Drive their permanent base in Swindon though they continue to hire out pools in other location across the region for customers further afield.

Water Babies runs two programmes: the baby classes are aimed at three-month-olds and last 50 weeks; the toddler group welcomes children from around one year old through to the age of four. By the end of the toddler cycle, children are familiar with all swimming techniques except the full butterfly which is a little tricky at such a young age.

Classes are adapted to ensure babies or toddlers who start at a later stage are able to catch up quickly.

Each week the club’s seven instructors teach 100 classes at Water Babies’ Swim Centre Hobley Drive headquarters as well as private pools across town, in Cheltenham, Westonbirt and Stroud. On average 850 babies and toddlers attend lessons in total, all accompanied by a parent, and 450 alone in Swindon.

Emily Cooper first joined Water Babies with her infant son Benjamin five years ago. She now travels to Swindon every week from Pewsey to attend classes with her second child, 22-month-old Maya.

Although daunted at first at the prospect of submerging her baby in water, she soon realised she had nothing to fear.

“I’m fine with Maya but with my son I was nervous,” says the 37-year-old. “The first time you put them in the water is scary but now I see them oozing with confidence.

“It’s reassuring to know that when we go on holiday they will be safe when they’re by the pool.”

Fellow Water Babies mum, Lorna Slattery from Swindon agrees.

“It was daunting at first taking my son Charlie,” says the 33-year-old. “They put him under water straight away. It’s done him a world of good.

"Now he is 22 months and he’s doing really well. They learn safety and how to hold on. It’s massive for them to learn to be safe and not panic.”

The group has proved a great bonding experience, not only with her child but also fellow new parents, she adds.

Building on the success of the baby and toddler classes, six years ago Claire and Steve launched the Swim Stars school for children aged between four and 10 years old, mainly to allow older pupils to continue on.

Over the years, the pair have weathered many challenges, from the onset of the recession in 2008 to finding suitable premises and offering a unique approach to teaching to stave off fierce competition.

If they were the only ones to offer baby lessons back in 2006, tot and toddler swimming groups are now 10 a penny across the UK.

Through the ups and downs they never lost sight of their goal – to help children grow into confident swimmers. Claire credits their unwavering vision for their success.

“It’s about the children,” she smiles. “I bumped into one of my first water babies in town the other day. It’s great to see all these children grow up around you and think you gave them that confidence and life skill. It’s fantastic.”

Her oldest "babies" are only 10 years old and still have some way to go yet but Claire holds out hope some of her most promising alumni will do the school proud by going professional.

She laughs: “It would be nice to have an Olympian.”

Classes are £15. To find out more or to sign up call 01793 337118 or e-mail ringaring@ waterbabies.co.uk.