A local mum and ex-philosophy teacher is hoping to boost water confidence amongst tots in Abergavenny with the launch of her award-winning baby and toddler swim programme Turtle Tots, in South East Wales.

Having ditched her eight-year career as a secondary school teacher at an independent school in Cheltenham and prior to that a large state grammar school in Leicestershire, Hannah Day is going into 2016 with a completely new direction.

Keen to spend more time with her 13 month-old daughter Seren, and with a passion for educating children on the importance of good swimming skills, Hannah found the demands of a full-time teaching role was taking its toll. Having taken her own daughter to Turtle Tots classes in Exeter where she used to live, she was keen to continue when she moved into the local area.

Hannah Day explains, “My daughter really loved Turtle Tots classes, it was so warm and friendly and great fun too. But I was surprised to find that these classes didn’t exist in the South East Wales area. I was looking for a new challenge so buying a licence from Turtle Tots and launching the brand in South East Wales was a no-brainer really.”

Hannah’s interactive classes offer more personal, yet affordable, safe, structured swim sessions for babies and toddlers in the region. Her classes are now running in the local area (including Monmouth, Abergavenny and Newport) and she hopes to inspire young children in the water and furnish them with the foundations of a potentially life-saving skills.

Hannah continued, “I’ve always enjoyed swimming and just seeing the look on my own daughter’s face when she attended these sessions made it all the more motivating. I want to see that look on other babies and parents’ faces. The Turtle Tots ethos is so relaxed and friendly, if feels like a personal training session with your little one. Plus it’s great to be able to give them a little exercise work-out and for them to use their limbs in a way that they would otherwise have been unable to experience from birth.”

Hannah will also be donating a portion of her revenue to Welsh children’s hospice Ty Hafan a local charity that helps life limited children and their families in Wales http://www.tyhafan.org/.

Caroline Sparks, Commercial Director of Turtle Tots Ltd commented on the launch of Turtle Tots South East Wales, “With her teaching background, Hannah is great with children and being a mum herself she understands how important swimming is as a life-saving skill but she is also keen for her sessions to be fun-filled and nurturing. We are looking forward to seeing her business thrive in the area.”

For more details, please visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/turtletotssoutheastwales/ and Twitter page on: @turtletotssoutheastwales or the Turtle Tots website for more information www.turtletots.com