Swim School Membership

Terms and conditions

Swimming Lessons

• Pupils can be refused entry to the lesson if they are more than 5 minutes late for a class, as it disrupts the lesson for the other pupils.
• A coloured swimming hat will be issued when joining swim school and new hats will be issued when moving up to the next stage. Lost or broken hats can be replaced at reception.
• We ask for swimming hats to be worn every lesson for ensure the hygiene and swimmer safety within lessons. You will be provided a swimming hat when you sign up and as you move up levels. If you want to wear your own that is ok. If there is any reason why you cannot wear your swim hat, management need to be made aware and note will be put on your child’s account. 
• We reserve the right to deny access to the swimming lessons.

Teaching Policies and Procedures 

• All Lampton Leisure Swimming Teachers are Swim England/STA qualified and have the relevant DBS checks before they can teach.

Parental responsibilities:

• All swimmers under the age of 11-years-old must have parents/guardians remain on the premises whilst the pupil is attending their swimming lessons. This is imperative in case of the unlikely event of a medical emergency, building evacuation or other emergencies.
• If your child is over the age of 11-years-old and coming by themselves, please ensure you keep your emergency contact detail up to date.
• Parents/guardians must never distract the teacher during a lesson and should direct all communication through the reception staff or the Site Management team. 
• Parents/guardians should not speak with a teacher during the period that lessons are in progress as it is dangerous and will distract the teacher from the supervision of the pupils in their lesson.
• Parents/Guardians are responsible for ensure emergency contact details are up to date. 

Swimming Lesson Programme:

• Class sizes are developed from Swim England guidelines and are in line with pupil to teacher ratio.
• Lampton Leisure reserves the right to combine classes at short notice if necessary.
• Pre-school through to stage 7 lessons are delivered over a 30minutes timeslot, stages 8 to 10 are 45-minute timeslots. Register and assessments are included within these times.
• When pupils are ready to progress to the next stage, we will aim to move the pupils as soon we have spaces available. 
• The Program is a rolling 50-week program which means spaces are not always immediately available.

Pupil Illness/Medical Condition:

• Any medical condition or disability you wish to inform your teacher about. You will need to tell reception; they will add any information or adaptation needed to the system to be visible to the teacher.
• If your child is unwell, we recommend that you do not bring them to their swimming lesson.
• If your child has been ill with diarrhoea, they should not attend their lesson. To protect others, they should not swim for at least a week after it has completely cleared up.
• If your child has chickenpox, shingles or Hands, Foot and Mouth, please do not attend swimming lessons until the spot has completely Scabbed over. This is to protect others.

Crash Courses:

• Payment must be made at the point of booking; crash course places cannot be held without payments.
• Crash courses are non-refundable.
• If unable to attend a crash course for medical or special circumstances, proof will need to be provided and Management will look into getting you booked on to the next available crash course.

Swimming Lesson Dress Code & Hygiene:

• All children should wear appropriate fitting costumes/trunks and shorts specifically designed for swimming. Baggy costumes/trunks can hamper movement.
• No jewellery should be worn during a swimming lesson. Religious or medical bracelets are allowed but should not distract or cause injury to the swimmer in their lesson.
• Goggles are encouraged but pupils can be asked to remove them if they are providing a distraction and when performing certain skills (unless there is a medical reason for goggles to be worn). We recommend the use of dioptre corrective goggles for anyone with a visual impairment.
• All swimmers should shower before their lesson and make sure pupils have used the toilet before the lesson commence. This will help to keep the pool water clean.
• Hair is to be tied back out of the swimmer’s face and to wear a swimming hat when in the lesson.
• Within your swim school membership, you will receive a Lampton leisure swim school colour code hat when you first sign up and at the completion of each stage you will receive a new colour code swimming hat. If you lose your swimming hat, a new hat will be issued at a charge.
• Swimming hats are expected to be worn in every swim school swimming lesson.

Pupil Progression:

• All pupils on the ‘Learn to Swim’ programme work towards the Swim England Learn to Swim Framework.
• Swimming Teachers continually assess all pupils’ progression throughout the 50-week program. Teachers aim to work on at least one to 2 of the outcomes of each lesson. Some weeks might be more focused on Drowning Prevention Week or Distance Badge Week.
• Progression of all pupils will be at the judgment of the swimming teacher and in accordance with the progression within the criteria of the “Swim England Learn to Swim Framework”.
• Due to the continuous progressive nature of our programme, and the variety of ability levels within each session, we cannot guarantee a specific time slot for progression, as a space within the next stage may not always be immediately available.
• Once completing stage 10 to 100%, a cancellation request is to be sent as per the Terms & Conditions through the website. Please note if a cancellation request is received 10 working days before the next Direct debit collection – immediate cancellation may be approved.

Changing and moving lessons:

• You may request a change of time, day or Swimming Teacher and we will try to accommodate your request on the day, however, if not possible, the pupil will be added to the movement list. The movement list allows you to see all the available spaces you can move to on the Home portal.
• Swimming ability and speed of progression will vary depending on the swimmer.
• We understand all teachers have there our teaching style and we try our best to get every teacher a range of lessons.

Pool Closure and Cancelled Swimming Lessons:

• In the event of a pool closure we will make every attempt to contact our customers as soon as possible. Whether this is by phone or email.
• Lessons cancelled by sites due to unforeseen circumstances. Sites will offer Swim School members a catch-up organised for the next holiday time alternatively catchup lessons may be offered during the current program. The catch-up will be offered within 3 months of cancelled lessons. 
• Refunds or credits are not available on the Swim School programme.
• Where the lesson needs to be cancelled for a sustained period of time e.g. teacher has left. We would look at suspending the pupil account until we can find an alternative teacher or space.
• In the event of a planned pool closure we will be in contact to inform you of the option available at that time.
• Lampton Leisure reserves the right to cancel classes should numbers fall below our minimum numbers per group (50% of class capacity). If this happens you will be offered an alternative lesson of the same level.

Changing Teacher:

• We will use reasonable endeavours to provide the same instructor for each lesson within a course. However, relief instructors may be used without prior notification.
• We reserve the right to appoint a new teacher at any time and may, at times need to provide an alternative teacher for a class or classes due to illness or for any other unforeseen circumstances.
• In the event a teacher is away for a long period of time we will try to keep the same cover teacher for the period where possible.
• If a teacher is absent, the centre reserves the right to join classes together if considered appropriate and safe according to Swim England guidelines. We would always try to put a replacement teacher in place immediately however, if this is not manageable, we would put the classes together to avoid the cancellation. This would be an extremely rare occurrence as additional teachers are usually available to cover any such eventualities.

Swimming Lesson Payment:

• All fees are set up and paid to Lampton Leisure. Full set-up and payment must be completed before the first lesson.
• Direct Debit payments are taken on the agreed payment date each month, as outlined when signing up to Lampton Leisure.
• New joiners, taking the Direct Debit option will pay a pro-rata payment for any lessons which take place prior to the first Direct Debit being taken.
• Lampton Leisure reserves the right to change the price of swimming lessons at any time. Direct Debit customers will be notified in advance.
• For any failed Direct Debits, Lampton Leisure reserves the right to restrict access to the lessons until a suitable payment has been made for the missed Direct Debit Payment. Under these circumstances, Lampton Leisure will not guarantee the same space as the existing lesson.
• Direct Debit payments include one lesson per week at the agreed Stage of lessons for the monthly Direct Debit subscription, and for junior lessons (under 16 years) access to General Swimming sessions (subject to pool availability and capacity).
• The monthly Direct Debit subscription remains the same for each calendar month, regardless of the number of lessons that are delivered during the month. i.e. some months there will be five lessons, while most months there will be four. During December there will be two or three lessons depending on the cycle of the year. Over a 12-month period, with 12 equal Direct Debit payments a total of 50 swimming lessons will be available to attend*. (* unless a lesson has been cancelled)
• Swim School membership start date cannot be deferred.

Missed Lessons:

• Lesson fees are non-refundable where the pupil has either missed lessons or decided to withdraw from the programme altogether.
• Lessons run consecutively; the lesson credits will be utilised as each lesson takes place regardless of pupil attendance (except for pool closure/lesson cancellation).

Communication:

• The manager on duty will be the member of the team to solve any poolside issues. Any problems or issues should be conveyed through them.
• Questions regarding the progression of pupils should be directed towards the reception staff who will be able to pass on the message to the relevant member of staff, who will then contact you to discuss the pupil.
• All parents/guardians are required to supply us with a valid e-mail address for quick communication purposes. Please note you must opt-in to receive these. This is essential so you have received relevant information.

Viewing:

• Parents/guardians are not permitted on poolside but must sit in the pool viewing areas. Where pool viewing is on the poolside, parents must not interfere with the lessons or distract the swimming teachers.
• We do ask that all spectators remain in the seating area to prevent any unnecessary distractions for the teachers and make every effort to ensure that all footwear is clean, wearing shoe covers when provided.
• It is difficult for the teaching staff to gain full attention from their pupils if they are being distracted; progress can be affected if children are not fully able to concentrate.
• No photography or filming is permitted on the poolside or in the changing area without prior approval from the Centre Management.

Behaviour and Conduct:

• Parents accept that their child is under the supervision, control, and care of the Swimming Teacher, during the lesson period. Should the behaviour of the child be unsatisfactory, and the class be disrupted, the Swimming Teacher has the right to remove the pupil from the class.
• The teacher may employ reasonable measures as necessary to maintain the smooth delivery of the class. 
• We reserve the right to request that your child be removed from classes should they persistently disrupt or are seen to be putting themselves or anyone else at risk during the class. If a child is removed under these circumstances and suitable alternative arrangements cannot be made, no refund will be provided.

Swim School Bolt On (Child) Access based on adult-linked membership:

• Swim School Bolt-on must be linked to an adult paying member. 
• Access to Swim School lesson booking will only be at the site where the linked adult member is signed up.
• Swim School Bolt-on provides inclusive access to swimming, Swim School places for children, and discounts on secondary spend – 10% off in Café and Soft Play.

Swim School Adult Bolt on:

• Swim School Adult Bolt-on can only be applied if adult currently is paying for a Fitness Membership (Exclude EOR Membership).
• Swim School Adult Bolt-on provides Swim School places for adult.

Making Requests

• To submit a request and to leave feedback, please visit the Contact Us page. 
• Choose the correct Tab in relation your request. 
• Complete the required information and submit.
• An automated response will be sent.
• The relevant site Teams will be in touch with you regarding your request.

Swim School Membership Cancellation 

• Cancellation request must be submitted in writing through the Cancellation Form located on the Contact Us page. 
• One calendar months’ notice from the direct debit date is required when requesting a cancellation. 
• Failure to provide the full notice period to cancel your swim school when on Direct Debit may result in Lampton Leisure taking recovery action for the outstanding payment.

Medical Swim School Freeze Requests

• Swim School memberships can only be requested to be frozen on medical grounds for a maximum of 4 weeks. 
• Appropriate medical proof must be provided at the time of the request. 
• No Backdated requests for freezes or cancellations will be actioned – this includes reimbursement of a DD collection prior to the medical request being submitted.

Changes to the Direct Debit

• The request to change your direct debit date must be submitted in writing, via email or request form on the Contact Us page. 
• Changing a direct debit’s bank account details can be requested in site.

Refunds

• If you feel you are owed a refund, you can make a request by completing an enquiry form on the Contact Us Page and explain in detail the reason behind your request with any supporting documents.