I am delighted to have the opportunity to post a review for Joe. Joe has been teaching my daughter to swim for about 18 months now in stages 6 and 7. No disrespect to her other swimming teachers but Joe’s tuition is head and shoulders over anyone she has had before – and she has had some pretty good teachers! From the start Joe has impressed me with his easy-going attitude and ability to get down to the child’s level to convey his teaching skills. He has a natural affinity with children of all ages and knows how to get the best out of each child he teaches. I have only seen him teach in a group situation but would say that each child is treated as an individual within the group and he gives feedback to each of them depending on their particular need. My own child has always loved swimming but as she entered level 6 she hit a problem with diving. She had never done this before and was uncharacteristically frightened of diving in head-first. Joe was brilliant with her and knelt down beside her giving her guidance and reassurance as she made her first attempts. She trusts him completely and with his help is making significant progress in this area. He is also extremely thorough in his teaching of each stroke, for example, getting my daughter’s breast-stroke timing to a very high standard. This is something, although quite basic, that no other teacher has touched upon and this can be seen, not only in my daughter, but others who join Joe’s class. He will only move a child up to the next level when he is satisfied that they are ready so that they move up with the confidence to know that they have achieved that level and will not struggle at the next. All the children clearly love their time with Joe and leave with smiles on their faces as he is so encouraging and always leaves them on a happy note. That said, I have seen him have to deal with some appalling behaviour in his lessons. Although easy-going Joe handles unacceptable behaviour in a calm, non-confrontational manner ensuring minimal disruption to the dynamics of the class. Having got to know Joe through swimming lessons, I would have no hesitation in using his babysitting services and would trust him implicitly with the care of my daughter. Whilst he does not have children of his own, it is testament to his genuine love of children and their company, that he chooses to look after the children of others and is not simply doing this because he has children of his own and needs a job that fits in with them.