Frequently Asked Questions
Where are your venues?
Please use the staff/sports entrance and car park behind the school, except on the 1st Sunday of each month, when we use the main front school car park and entrance to the right of the reception.
Park on the tarmac area to the right of the driveway.
Entrance to the school building to the far-right corner as you drive through the gates. Please follow the signs to the pool.
One-way cark park system. Parking in front of the school. Entrance to the school building to the far-right corner as you face the main school reception. Please follow the signs to the pool.
Additional Information
- Both venues have wheelchair and pram access.
- SwimVibe have exclusive use of the pools for your child’s lesson, no lane sharing or public swimming.
Are the changing rooms communal?
- There are two communal changing rooms with showers and toilet facilities.
- School changing room policy: Adults should be in the correct gender specific changing rooms for themselves, children aged 8 and under can be in either, but ages 9 and above should be in the correct changing room for their gender. If a child aged 9 and above still requires parental assistance, they should use the disabled bathrooms, in the adult gender specific changing room.
Additional Information
- Outdoor shoes to be removed and left outside the changing rooms. We recommend bringing indoor shoes for hygiene purposes and to avoid slipping.
- Please wait in the changing room until the start of lesson to avoid congestion on poolside. Once swimmer has finished their lesson, please move into the changing rooms to shower, dry and change, and to consider those parents wanting to watch their children swim.
- Please leave the pool, social areas and changing rooms as you would like to find them.
- Please do not leave any litter on the property, in the swimming pool area, toilet or changing rooms. There are bins provided.
- No food or drink to be taken into the pool area or changing rooms please.
- Swimmers should not eat a large meal for at least an hour before swimming lessons. A drink and light snack are recommended after the lesson, on leaving the premises.
- Please ensure swimmers shower before their lesson to keep our swimming pool free from contamination.
- Any personal belongings are left at the owners’ risk.
What do I need for my child's lesson?
- Swimsuit, towel, and goggles. We do not use artificial buoyancy aids (i.e. armbands) We like children to feel their own natural buoyancy. All swimming equipment and floats will be supplied.
- For safeguarding and hygiene reasons we must request that all swimmers wear the appropriate swimwear. Please dress girls in full swimming costumes and boys in well-fitting swimming costume or shorts. Children arriving to lessons in bikini’s or underwear may be turned away from their lesson.
- Toddlers and children under 4 years (including any children who are still undergoing potty training) must wear swimming nappy/pants. SwimVibe reserves the right to refuse entry into the pool without the appropriate swimwear.
- Goggles to be adjusted and ready to wear. If swimmer cannot put their own goggles on, they should be placed on head ready to pull down over eyes.
Additional Information
- Hair to be tied back away from face and eyes or swimming cap worn.
- Due to the risk of water contamination, please ensure swimmers are not wearing any makeup, cosmetic products including sun creams and oils.
- To avoid injury, the wearing of spectacles in the water by a swimmer is not recommended.
How long is the lesson?
- Lessons are 30 minutes in duration and start on the hour or half hour.
- Please arrive in sufficient time to allow the class to begin as scheduled (5 minutes is adequate).
- Lessons start promptly on the hour and half hour so please ensure swimmers have been to the toilet and are ready to swim at the start of their class.
Additional Information
- SwimVibe will be responsible for swimmers during their swimming lessons and parents/ guardians are responsible at all other times. The swimming lesson begins when the Swimming Coordinator accepts charge of the pupil and ends when the lesson finishes.
- We try to have strict control of all classes to ensure that every precaution is taken to keep your swimmer safe. Should your swimmer misbehave or disrupt a lesson we will give them a verbal warning. Should they persist with bad behavior, they may be requested to sit outside of the pool or even leave the pool area. Please explain that this is a time to learn and not misbehave.
- Swimmers may not run around the pool, surround, nor enter the water before or after their lesson without the instructor's permission.
- For our adult and toddler classes we ask that one adult must enter the water with each toddler. That adult is exclusively responsible for the safety of the toddler both in the pool, changing rooms and the surrounding areas.
- Avoid feeding toddlers too close to your lesson time.
- Only enter the pool when told to do so by the Instructor. Never enter the pool if the instructor is not on poolside.
- Please bring a dry towel or poncho for after the lesson.
- Qualifications and PVG disclosures are available to view on request.
Where can I watch my child's lesson?
- Parents/guardians are very welcome to sit on poolside, however we ask when observing a swimming lesson please do so quietly and show consideration to others. It is imperative that noise is kept to a minimum so that those in the pool can hear the Instructors and so staff can maintain the safest possible environment.
- Any siblings that are on poolside and not taking part in a lesson must always be supervised by an adult. Please ensure siblings remain seated and entertained otherwise should go out to the main corridor.
Additional Information
- A parent/guardian should be available to take younger swimmers to the toilet during a lesson.
- We request parents remain close by whilst the swimmer is in their lesson. This is imperative in case of the unlikely event of a medical emergency, building evacuation or other emergency situation.
- Please take care when walking on poolside or around the shower and changing areas as they can become slippery when wet.
Will my child change classes when ready to move up to the next level?
- Swimmers will progress through the levels in their current class and time slots where possible.
- Swimmers are placed into appropriate ability levels allowing all swimming skills to be covered progressively each week.
- We follow a specific program which is incorporated into the lesson plans to ensure all skills and strokes are taught.
- Swimmer progression is monitored and assessed continually throughout the lessons.
- SwimVibe reserves the right to move swimmers to different classes or time slots to ensure they are in an appropriate ability group thus ensuring continued progress for all the swimmers.
Additional Information
- All our levels incorporate water safety and survival skills appropriate to class level of ability.
- Parents sit on poolside so you can see swimmers and they can see you; you can give a smile for support and a thumbs up for encouragement and recognition of a skill achieved.
- Certificates for Effort and Progress will be handed out at the last lesson of each term. Your child’s current swimming progression level will be noted on the certificate.
- Please bear in mind, no two children are at the same level and each child has different strengths in different strokes.
Remember, we only swim for 30 minutes once a week and the number of lessons attended will affect progression!
What happens if my child is sick?
Please do not attend your swimming lesson if you, or your child...
- Show any Covid-19 symptoms, including but not restricted to fever, continuous cough, loss or change to smell or taste,
- have been unwell with, sickness or diarrhoea in the last 48 hours.
- If your child has any illness that is contagious, in fairness to other swimmers, please do not allow them into the swimming pool.
- If your child has Chicken Pox, they will not be able to swim until all spots have healed and any scabs have disappeared.
Additional Information
- Unfortunately, we cannot offer any make-up lessons as we need to cover costs of lesson and holding your place.
- To ensure that all swimmers are given the best opportunity to succeed, and, to keep them safe we ask that you inform us of any medical conditions or difficulties your child is experiencing at home, school, etc. as their emotional state of mind also affects their swimming performance and progress. This information should be recorded on registration and will be kept confidential.
- We would appreciate it if you could notify us of any absences via the customer portal.
How do I re-enrol for the next term of lessons?
- To give existing SwimVibe swimmers priority for lessons each term, we use an automatic re-booking system.
- This means enrolment is continuous and swimmers are automatically re-enrolled into the next term of lessons to continue swimming in their current time slots, unless you inform us prior to the end of term that you either wish to change day or time, or alternatively that you wish to stop altogether or otherwise notified by SwimVibe.
Additional Information
- Please note that swimmers progress through the levels in their current time slots, therefore we cannot guarantee or advise if or when spaces will open up.
- We will add you to our waiting list and priority is given to existing swimmers for alternate times.
- New enrolments can join a class at any time.
How do I make a payment?
- CASH (EXACT AMOUNT in marked envelope please) and handed to the Swim coordinator or placed into the payment box at the pool. Please check your receipt through our customer portal.
- CHEQUE (addressed to SwimVibe Ltd)
- BANK TRANSFER (SwimVibe Ltd Account #12265761, sort code 80-22-60 (ref: swimmer name)
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Fees are charged per school term and the amount will reflect the number of lessons per term. -
Swimmers can join at any time during a term and fees will be charged pro rata. -
£10 per swimmer per 30-minute lesson. -
£10 once-off administration fee on enrolment -
Payment is due in advance, either in one instalment or monthly per school term (1st lesson of each month). -
Payment must be received by the first lesson of each term/month to secure your space. If the term is being paid for by someone other than yourself, you are responsible for informing that person of our payment policies, deadlines etc., and relaying any communication with regards to re-booking or payments of any sort. -
As a requirement of our insurance policy, anyone who has not paid for their block of lessons or had a payment returned as unpaid will be unable to participate in their lessons until the term fee has been paid in full.
Do I still need to pay if my child does not swim?
Additional Information
Swim School Cancellations
- Please be aware that management at both these schools may cause swimming classes to be cancelled at short notice due to school events taking place. Unfortunately, we have no control over these events or notice periods but will inform customers as soon as we have been notified.
- In the event of a cancelled lesson we will endeavour to contact our customers as soon as possible via the Customer portal, by email and text. Please note, however, we cannot guarantee that this will happen—especially if a closure is decided at short notice. In the case of extended closure, we will keep you informed of when lessons will be recommencing.
- Please ensure your contact details are up to date.
- In the event of a pool closure or cancelled class, a credit will be given in lieu of future payment for the following month/term.
- If, after the first lesson, this class is not suitable and no other spaces are available, a full refund will be given.
Customer Cancellations
- Missed lessons cannot be refunded or transferred in any circumstances.
- Unfortunately, we do not offer make up lessons. Due to the increasing number of swimmers we have and the full classes, it is impossible to manage even if we are notified in advance of absenteeism’s. We have also found it to be disruptive for the teachers and existing swimmers to adapt to a new swimmer for a once off lesson, especially for our younger swimmers who need a more structured and familiar class and environment.
- Unfortunately, we cannot hold spaces. We appreciate there may be medical or personal reasons as to why you cannot attend one or multiple lessons. However, as we are a small business and only have four swimmers in a class, we do need to cover all our expenses for each class and as such, we do need to charge the full class rate to keep your space. If you would prefer to give up your space, we can advise on class availability at the time you are ready to return but cannot guarantee availability.
- Two week’s written notice is required to terminate your child’s swimming classes.
- If a swimmer does not attend their lesson and payment is not received by the payment dates stipulated on the invoices, the lesson will be allocated to a new swimmer.
- If you wish to discontinue lessons, we would appreciate you letting us know, so your place can be offered to another swimmer.
- In accordance with the Consumer Contracts Regulations, anyone booking lessons for the first time is entitled to a 14-day cooling off period. The 14-day cooling off period commences from the date of payment. People wishing to exercise their right to this must contact us in writing within 14 days of purchase. Refunds will be made back as per the original payment method. Should lessons have already commenced, the cost of any lessons taken within that period will be deducted from the amount refunded. We ask therefore that you ensure your child is ready for lessons before booking them in. After this period, we cannot offer refunds or credit notes if you are unable to attend lessons.
PRICING POLICY
- At SwimVibe we are committed to providing the best value for money. We will constantly monitor other local private swim schools’ prices to remain competitive.
What is your photo/filming policy?
- No photography or filming is permitted on poolside without prior consent.
- Photos at the end of the class of just your child may be permitted but prior permission must be obtained from SwimVibe.
Additional Information
- Photos and videos may be taken for promotional purposes for SwimVibe.
- We will always check with the rest of the class before allowing any photography and photo consent must be indicated at registration.
- SwimVibe would encourage all users to report any suspicious activity to a member of staff as soon as they can.
What is the best way to contact SwimVibe if I have any further questions?