Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a couple of handy tips to assist you in preparing your child for swimming lessons. It will help to ensure your little swimmer is ready, confident and prepared for their first swimming lesson with us.
1. Get used to being in the water!
The best way of doing this is in the bath! Sing songs that they know and play games with floating toys which will help to put them at ease and make the idea of being in water fun.
2. Get familiar with Swim School!
Children can often be a little nervous about starting something new.
For some, the thought of being in a new place, meeting new people and starting a new activity is not always easy, and can even be a little bit daunting – no matter how water confident they may be.
It’s a great idea to bring your little one into Swim School for a look around and to meet their swimming instructor before their first lesson – for particularly nervous swimmers, it’s just one less thing to worry about. So if you would like to call in, please let us know in advance so that your instructor can arrange to be available
Our courses are carefully structured and organised over 12 week terms. In that time each group will be working towards completing one of Swim School’s Duckling or Dolphin levels.
If all the necessary criteria for the level is achieved, a certificate and badge will be awarded. In addition to these levels, swimmers will also be awarded for swimming distances such as 5m, 10m, 20m, etc. All awards are available to purchase at a cost of £4.
We run 12 week courses with payment required in 4 week blocks. Payment can be made by cash or online through our Parent Portal (small transaction fee applies online).
Once the course has commenced, Swim School are under no obligation to refund or transfer money in the event that you are unable to attend part or all of the course.
If your child is absent for any reason, the missed lesson(s) must be paid for in full, as our costs remain the same whether you attend or not. It is not just ourselves that operate this strict policy, it is standard practice by all swimming lesson providers due to you having a place allocated for your child, then no-one else (from our waiting list) can have that place.
If your child does not attend Swim School for two consecutive lessons and without notification to Swim School, we will presume you will not be returning and offer your place to someone else from our waiting list.
Please do let us know if you decide to cancel your child’s lessons, so that we can give another child your place, and the opportunity to learn to swim.
There is no need to re-book after 12 weeks, you will be automatically re-booked onto the next level to continue your swimming lessons.
As time progresses you may find the group size reducing. Once a group has become too small to function properly, we may need to merge it with another lesson. We will always do our best to keep your class times as similar as possible, but unfortunately we cannot always guarantee this.
Our courses run throughout the year with regular breaks in line with school holidays. This includes all Bank Holidays, half-terms, Easter, Christmas and part of the summer break.
Once your child has completed all five Dolphin levels at Swim School, they will be able to swim breaststroke, backstroke and front crawl to a good, basic standard, they will have learnt most of the associated swimming skills and will be able to swim approximately 100m – 200m.
The next step of their swimming journey would be to continue their lessons at a larger 25m pool in order to further develop their stroke technique and swimming stamina.
Alternatively, you may choose to stop swimming lessons altogether and take your child swimming socially for fun and exercise.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! avoid feeding your child immediately before their swimming lesson. Undigested food has a tendency to float within the stomach, which often leads to an unsettled tum and well, you know the rest!
You are very welcome to bring along a cold drink as you may find that your child is particularly thirsty after swimming lessons, having just had a healthy workout!
The family atmosphere we try to encourage means that parents and carers feel comfortable taking photographs or video footage, we would ask that everyone remains sensitive to the feelings of others and always check with your instructor first.
Should your child have any known or suspected medical conditions, then please consult with a doctor or other medical practitioner before coming swimming.
Never bring your child swimming if they have any illnesses such as an ear infection, sickness, diarrhoea, chicken pox, impetigo or a bad cold. Wait until your doctor gives you the all clear before returning.
In the instance of sickness or diarrhoea, your child must have been clear of symptoms for at least 24 hours before attending their next swimming lesson.
All items that are left in the changing area or on poolside are at your own risk. Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd will not accept any responsibility for the loss of any personal possessions.
Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd is committed to providing a safe environment for families. All members of our team hold a valid DBS check.
If you have any concerns regarding child welfare, please ensure this is highlighted to any member of our team or anonymously by phone if this is your preferred method of communication.
You can also call the Swim England helpline on: 0800 100 4001 or NSPCC Child Protection helpline directly on: 0808 800 5000. This line is open for 24 hours each day and calls are free of charge.
We are committed to respecting your privacy. Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd is the data controller. We process personal information to enable us to provide a service to our customers and to maintain our own accounts and records. Data is held securely.
Swim School (Lancashire Ltd) Data Protection Policy
Our contact details
Name: Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd
Address: The Olde Corn Mill, Tennyson Street, Burnley, BB10 2JB
Phone Number: 07946 188123
Website: www.swimschoollancs.com
The type of personal information we collect
We currently collect and process the following information:
- Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics
- Children’s names, date of birth and any known medical conditions relevant to swimming
How we get the personal information and why we have it
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:
- To be able to enrol your child into swimming lessons provided by our learn to swim program.
We use the information that you have given us in order to:
- Contact you in the event of lesson cancellation if situations arise outside of our control such as staff illness, or plant breakdown.
- Provide details of your child’s swimming lesson such as course dates, payment dates and reminders.
We may share this information with your child’s swimming instructor.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:
We have a legitimate interest.
How we store your personal information
Your information is securely stored.
We keep names and contact details until the day of your child’s final swimming lesson at Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd. We will then dispose of all your information by destroying all paper documents and deleting your details from our computer system that have been stored about you and your child.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing – You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
Please contact us at jo@swimschoollancs.co.uk, Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd, The Olde Corn Mill, Tennyson Street, Burnley, BB10 2JB.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at Swim School (Lancashire) Ltd, The Olde Corn Mill, Tennyson Street, Burnley, BB10 2JB or jo@swimschoollancs.co.uk
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk