Can I stay and watch my child swim?
Of course, we welcome you to watch the lessons. At Lyng Hall you are allowed onto poolside to watch as long as no outdoor shoes are worn, there are overshoes available to wear or please remove your shoes. At Alan Higgs there is a spectators balcony which we encourage all parents to use. Only parents of under 8 yrs old allowed on poolside. Please bring your swimmer/s initially to the entrance to poolside at the glass end of the pool where our volunteers will be available to let you in, hand you pool cover shoes for you to hand over the swimmers to the Teaching Staff and make your way then to the seating/balcony.
What age does Coventry Swim School cater for?
We take swimmers from their 4th birthday upwards.
What happens if my child doesn’t progress or is slow to progress?
Our teachers are trained to work with each child at their own pace within a class setting. If you feel your child is not making progress then we encourage you to talk to the class teacher in the first instance as they will be able to advise on their thoughts. All swimmers will progress at their own rate and it is important to not compare your child’s progress to others. You can track their progression via the home portal that is the software we use. Please ask for your log in details if you are not sure on these. It is a great way of seeing how they are doing as the Teachers will update these regularly.
Do you run 1:1/private lessons?
Currently we only offer class lessons and don’t do 1:1 lessons. However, if your child has a SEND we will try and cater for them with allocating assistant teachers if available/applicable.
How do we enrol?
Please contact the Team on enquiries@coventryswimschool.co.uk who will send through details and a booking form for an assessment. Please note this is subject to availability and a waiting list is available. You will need to complete the Swim School assessment form. Payment is made by joining our direct debits scheme.
When are the lessons?
The swimming lesson scheme is a continuous programme with a closure for Easter & Christmas. Lessons will not normally be scheduled on Bank Holidays. There is also scheduled maintenance periodically through the year which you will be advised of in advance.
What can I do before the course starts?
Visit your swimming pool (if swimmers are not used to it), practice in the bath and shower at home – anything that will get faces wet and get swimmers used to having water on their face. Please inform us of any relevant information which may affect swimmers taking part in a swimming class – this includes special needs, bad experiences in water, phobias, medical conditions, etc.
What Do I Need To Bring?
Close fitting swimwear (avoid baggy straps on swimming costumes, long, baggy shorts and sun suits with stud fastenings, as they hold water), Swimming hat (we hope to have a Swim School hat available to buy soon), goggles ensuring they fit correctly and medication with your name on it.
How long after eating can my child attend their lesson?
This will depend on the size of the meal and how vigorous you intend to swim but basic good advice is not too eat for an hour before your lessons. If a child is sick in the pool we have to cancel lessons so please bear in mind when you feed your swimmer prior to their lessons.
What happens to my children’s place(s) if we’re on holiday / sick / injured / bad weather?
If your child is not well or if you are going to miss a number of weeks the credits/direct debit will still be taken and your place will be maintained if you are in credit. If you want to stop your credit/payments your child will be taken off the lesson system and you will join a waiting list if places are not available when you return. If the swimmers are off long term then the School may arrange a credit on the production of a medical note – decisions are made on an individual basis. In the event of an unforeseen closure by the Swim School all inconvenienced swimmers will be credited the full value of their missed lesson.
How do I keep my child motivated?
In between lessons we advise that if you swimming as a family you make the occasions fun and potentially work on some of the skills the teacher are working on if you think appropriate. We are very much about the swimmers learning in a fun environment and learn to love the sport of swimming. Every child loves receiving a badges and/or certificates and these can be purchased from the Swim School desks. We also do ‘Swimmer of the Week’ at the Alan Higgs site and this helps to motivate the swimmers too.
Are your teachers qualified and experienced?
All of the Swim School teachers are swim England Level 2 qualified with the assistant teachers on stage 1-4 being level 1 Assistant qualified. The lead teachers on each class also hold a NRASTC Lifeguard Qualification through the RLSS as a minimum. We do run a young volunteer programme for 14-17 year olds so some classes may have extra helpers in the water from this programme. Formal Teaching qualifications can be gained once a person has turned 16.
Is my child safe?
The Swim School is managed in accordance with the child protection policies and procedures of Swim England. All swimming teachers receive Safeguarding training during their qualification course and every swimming teacher has been DBS checked as part of the recruitment process. Swimming staff of the Swim School will be clearly identified by a distinct uniform. Our Swim School policies can be found on the policies section of the website.
How do I make a complaint, comment of compliment?
The Swim School welcome all types of feedback. We try our hardest to ensure everyone gets a positive experience from us but in the case of wanting to comment/complain please contact your Teacher on the day first to resolve any issues. You are welcome to follow up with the Swim School Management by emailing the Learn to Swim Coordintator (sam.wallen@coventryswimschool.co.uk) who will try and deal with your comments/concerns. If you feel it needs to be taken further then please feel free to contact Jo Deakins joanne.deakins@coventryswimschool.co.uk as the Swim School Manager.
If my child has been sick or had diarrhoea how long should I leave it till they return to swimming?
If sickness or diarrhoea is a result of an infection then you should wait at least 48 hours after the last bout before returning to your lesson.
Are there any discounts available?
We run a 50% discount for third and subsequent family members living at the same address.
Will my children have the same teacher each week?
We will endeavour to provide consistency in the teachers delivering lessons; however, there may be occasions when this is not possible. All teachers covering lessons will have necessary qualifications to deliver the relevant sessions.
Who are the young helpers that we see at the lessons?
We are very proud of our Young Volunteer programme that we run for 14-18 year olds. They are starting out on their Swimming Teacher journeys and our qualified staff act as mentors to them.Occasionally we may ask some of our more experiences young helpers to ‘step up’ and be the assistants to the lessons. They will always work under the guidance of the qualified staff and never teach on their own.
Accessibility information for wheelchair users
The rules of Lyng Hall are no outside wheelchairs allowed on poolside, there is an ‘indoor’ wheelchair that Lyng Hall have that you can swap into if your are able to that can then go onto poolside. This is part of the no outdoor shoes etc policy they have.