International Women's Day: Local baby swim teacher brings employment to 50 working mums
In November 2004, local mum of two, Tamsin Brewis, made the decision to start her own baby swim school, in a bid to provide a better quality of swimming lessons to children living in Banbury and Northampton. Fifteen years on, Tamsin has taught over 7,000 children to swim across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. She’s also trained and employed nearly 50 local mums to work alongside her, bringing career opportunities to women from across the south east.
In celebration of International Women's Day, Tamsin is reflecting on her experiences of working alongside a team of such inspirational women. In fact, as of the 8th February 2020 – the day in question – Tamsin is proud to employ an all-female team, from the swimming teachers in the pools, to the support team in her Banbury based office.
“I started my business back when my children were six and eight, so I can fully appreciate the challenges faced by working mums,” she explained. “Having been through the long days, hectic schedule and constant childcare juggle myself, I’m extremely passionate about offering flexible career opportunities for my team. Our swimming teachers all come from a real variety of backgrounds – we’ve got former primary school teachers, stay-at-home mums and even a former policewoman teaching with us. I like to utilise their experiences by encouraging them to join me in learning a specialist - and very rewarding – skill, by training to become a Water Babies instructor. Some of my teachers have been working with me for years and others have gone on to utilise their training in other ways. I’m amazed at what we’ve achieved, as an all-female team.”
One of the many inspirational women working alongside Tamsin on a daily basis is 45-year-old Claire Dummer, from Northampton. As well as a part-time role with the office team as Client Services Manager, the mum of one is now a fully qualified swimming instructor, teaching little ones at pools across Northamptonshire. The support she’s been given by Tamsin since first joining the team in 2010 has helped her achieve many professional and personal milestones.
“Tamsin was there for me during the breakdown of my first marriage,” said Claire. “As a newly single mum, she was my rock during such a tough time and showed me that I could still achieve my dreams, despite what life had thrown at me. I’d always been desperate to retrain as a swimming teacher, but the timing had never been right. Once I was back on my feet, Tamsin supported me through the Water Babies training – now, I teach little ones a couple of days a week and I absolutely love it. I’m happily remarried, to my lovely husband, Mark, and I’ve even had the confidence to tackle a number of challenging open water swims, which I hand on heart don’t think I could have ever imagined taking that on before I joined Water Babies. I feel as though the sky’s the limit. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Tamsin, who has supported me so much over the last ten years.”
Having just celebrated their fifteenth year in business, Tamsin thanked her loyal team of 14 swimming instructors and office staff with a day out a Legoland – a chance to reflect on recent achievements and look forward to plans for the future.
“It was the least I could do, each and every one of my team have been instrumental in the success of Water Babies Bucks and Beds. I can honestly say that I couldn’t have done this without them and look forward to sharing in more success for years to come,” added Tamsin.
For more information, visit www.waterbabies.co.uk/contact/bucks-and-beds
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To speak with Tamsin Brewis or Claire Dummer, contact Kelly Ayres at Rev PR on 07895 876745 or email kelly@revpr.co.uk
Image attached – a photo of Tamsin with some of her teaching team in the pool.