FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

No. Children will be on their own in the water with a teacher looking after them during lessons.

There are a maximum of six children in a class for all Stage 1 to Stage 3 lessons. There are a maximum of eight children in a class for the Stage 4 – Stage 6 classes.

Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 classes teachers will be in the water. It is the teachers choice to go into the water or teach from poolside for the Stage 4 – Stage 6 classes.

Yes. All children should be accompanied by a parent/carer, who must stay at the venue for the duration of the lesson.

Classes run on Monday’s & Wednesday’s from 4.15-5.45pm and Saturday’s from 8.30am-1.00pm during school term-time at the Ellesmere Primary School pool.

Classes are scheduled to take place during school term time and follow the academic year.

Lessons are £8,50/per ½ hour for Stages 1-6 and £13/hour for Stage 7. All payments are made termly and you’ve got the option of paying in 2 instalments. We offer a 10% siblings discount and the first lesson is for FREE.

Stages 1-6 run for 30 minutes and Stage 7 for 60 minutes

We offer free taster sessions towards the end of the term and also free assessments.

We start teaching children when they are 3 years of age.

Our teachers are experienced in dealing with a child who is worried or nervous and are happy to introduce your child slowly into the lesson environment. We would start by encouraging the pupil to sit on poolside and watch the lesson with a parent then slowly introduce them to the water by spending some time splashing their toes while we keep the other pupils involved in the class. If a teaching helper is available they will spend some time talking to the pupil and playing with toys to encourage them gently into the pool. We will continuously give praise to the pupils and make the lessons as fun as possible. We understand that the settling in period can be quite distressing for some and would encourage you to ‘stick with it’.

The teachers assess all pupils during the whole duration of the term. This ensures the pupils are progressing well and that they are placed in correctly balanced classes to progress and also helps us to see whether we have any teaching issues.

Our teachers work from the same assessment structure and awards scheme. We focus on technique during our assessment. Therefore a child who is swimming 10m of front paddle with their arms staying in the water will be assessed differently from a child who can complete 10m swimming the first 3m as front crawl with their arms recovering over the water. You will be notified by the end of the term if your child has moved up a group.

Yes, all pupils who wish to continue swimming lessons for the next term must re-enroll by the deadline given. Priority for places is given to existing pupils who have had lessons on the same day the previous term. Any places will then be offered to existing pupils who wish to change day, to younger siblings of existing pupils and then to new pupils on our waiting list. Failure to re-enroll by the deadline given may result in your child’s place being lost.