Learn to Swim terms and conditions

1. Loughborough Sport as part of Loughborough University, will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protect Act 2018. Our privacy notice is issued in accordance with the GDPR Articles 13 and 14.

2. Loughborough Sport may share your data with third parties for agreed data processing, such as the collection of subscription fees or to allow us to keep in touch with you about your account. These communications will be regarding your subscriptions, participating activities and service messages. The third party will not be allowed to use or disclose your data to any business, organisation or individual, unless required by law.

3. Loughborough Sport is committed to protecting your personal data and informing you of your rights in relation to that data. Please refer to our privacy policy on the University website for further details. This policy may be updated at any time, we encourage you to check back regularly to review any changes.
Loughborough University is registered as a Data Controller under the Data protection act 1998 (registration No. Z3179802), if you would like to speak to us about how we collect and process your data, please contact our Data Protection Officer;

Address: Academic Registry, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire. LE11 3TU
Email: dp@lboro.ac.uk
Telephone: 01509 222819

1. All Loughborough Pool Swimming Teachers are fully qualified and have undergone enhanced DBS disclosure checks.
2. It is our policy to endeavour to provide a temporary replacement Swimming Teachers in the event of any instructor absence.
3. If a teacher is absent, the Pool reserves the right to join classes together if considered appropriate.  We would always try to put a replacement teacher in place immediately however, if this is not manageable, we would put the classes together in order to avoid the cancellation.  This would be an extremely rare occurrence as additional teachers are usually available to cover any such eventualities. 
4. We reserve the right to replace Swimming Teachers, if necessary, once the term has started.
5. Swimming Teachers are only responsible for pupils during their swimming lessons and parents and/or guardians are responsible at all other times.  The swimming lesson begins when the Swimming Teacher accepts charge of the pupil and ends when the lesson finishes.
6. Parents/guardians must remain on the premises whilst the pupil is in their lesson. This is imperative in case of the unlikely event of a medical emergency, building evacuation or other emergency situation.  Viewing is permitted on poolside, however we do ask that all spectators remain in the seating area on the nearside in order to prevent any unnecessary distractions for the teachers and pupils, and make every effort to ensure that all footwear is clean; overshoes are provided at the entrance to the changing rooms and poolside.
7. Parents/guardians must never distract the teacher during a lesson.  This includes attempting to speak with a teacher during the period that lessons are in progress. This is dangerous as it will distract the teacher from the supervision of the pupils in their lesson.  Questions regarding the progression of pupils should be directed towards the Learn to Swim Coordinator who will be able to pass on the message and retrieve an answer for the following lesson. To resolve any poolside issues all communication should be directed through the reception staff, the Learn to Swim Coordinator or Duty Manger on shift. 
8. Parents/guardians should refrain from trying to communicate with their child during a lesson.  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.
9. No photography or filming is permitted on poolside.
10. Reserving cubicles during swimming lessons is not permitted, any items left unattended may be removed.
11. Activate your child's Home Portal account.  Once logged in, you can view your child's progression and top-up swimming lesson credits.  
12. A quality Assurance check on each teacher’s performance is monitored by an internal verifier.
13. A Learn to Swim Coordinator or Duty Manager will be available to ensure the safety, smooth running of the lessons and to look after the needs of the teachers, pupils, and parents/guardians.  Lifeguards will be present during our programme.

1. The children’s swim programme runs for a minimum of 35 weeks throughout the year, split into three terms, spring, summer and autumn.  Adult lessons will continue through holiday periods, with the exception of the Christmas holidays.

2. Term dates, where possible, will run in conjunction with the Leicestershire County Council school terms dates.  Please be aware that holiday periods may not be the same for every school, therefore some lessons may take place during the school holiday period for your child.

3. Lessons for children are held over a 30-minute timeslot with 5 minutes allocated for registration and debrief.  One-to-one classes are held over a 20 minute timeslot with 5 minutes allocated for registration and debrief.  Adult lessons are 1 hour in duration.

4. Any lessons which are above 30 minutes, may be subject to an additional payment.

5. Pupil to Teacher ratios is in line with small numbers to teachers in the lower stages and increasing to higher numbers of pupils to teachers as the learner moves through the programme of lessons.

1. Fees will be paid in 5 or 10 lesson blocks in advance for children and 4 or 8 lesson blocks for adults.  Crash Course lessons will vary in days, usually 3 or 4 consecutive days.

2. Initial payment can be taken either in person or by telephone, and payments will be processed and recorded on a secure database.  It is the responsibility of the paying member or parent/guardian to read the terms and conditions of this statement prior to purchase.  Payment can be made by Credit or Debit Card only.  Please note the following cards will not be accepted; American Express.

3. Additional lesson blocks can be purchased online via the Home Portal or at the Swimming Pool reception.  To access the Home Portal, please contact the Swimming Pool reception team (01509 226200) to send an activation email.  If credits are not topped up prior to the last credit expiring, your place on your swim stage will be removed and open for others to book on to.

4. No provisional bookings will be taken under any circumstances, for either current or new customers, spaces cannot be confirmed unless payment is taken.

5. Refunds for non-attendance will not be given.

6. We reserve the right to increase our enrolment and ongoing fees at any time, notice will be provided in advance.

7. You may request a change of time, day or Swimming Teacher and we will try accommodate your request, provided a space is available. 

1. All pupils should wear tight fitting costumes/trunks (baggy costumes/trunks can restrict movement).

2. In the interests of hygiene and identification, all children should wear the Loughborough swim cap, as provided.

3. Where possible, pupils should refrain from wearing goggles as this can restrict progression.

1. All pupils on the ‘Learn to Swim’ programme work towards the Swim England, Learn to Swim Framework.

2. Swimming Teachers continually assess all pupil’s progression throughout the term, access to your child’s progress can be viewed on the Home Portal.

3. Progression of all pupils will be at the judgment of the teacher and the Learn to Swim Coordinator, in accordance with the progression within the learn to swim framework.

4. Pupils will be moved during term time if they meet the skills criteria required for movement to the next stage and will not be deliberately held back until the end of a term before progressing.

5. All pupils must complete the skill criteria within each of the levels, including other additional skills set out by Loughborough University, before progressing onto the next level.  Assessments will take into account any additional needs or disabilities the learner may have.

6. Upon completion of or/during a stage, parents will receive an email from the swim school to notify them of a completion of a badge, which you can purchase from reception.

7. Parents/guardians will receive an email from the swim school when their child is ready to move up.  Movement can be completed online on the Home Portal or at reception and should be done as soon as possible to aid pupil progression.  If no action is received within 48 hours, and the next stage of the swim school is available at the same time and day of the current stage, our swim coordinator will automatically move your child to the next stage. 

8. 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 on progression, as a space within the next stage may not always be immediately available.  If the available lesson times do not suit and you wish to leave the swim programme, point 7 in the Refunds Policy section of this document will apply.

1. Refunds will only be issued for medical conditions supported by a a doctor's letter stating your name and confirming that you are unable to participate in swimming lessons for a period of over 4 weeks.

    

2. If you wish to apply for a refund, you may do so by contacting the Learn to Swim Coordinator.  A minimum notice of 1 week is required by email directly to Swimming@lboro.ac.uk.  You will receive a refund of the remaining lessons after the 1-week notice, minus a 2-credit deduction.
3. Authorised refunds may take up to one month to process and will be actioned back to the bank card used to make the course payment.
4. If you cannot attend for a number of lessons in a row due to a verified medical reason, we can freeze remaining lessons and hold an allocated space for up to 3 weeks.  Evidence must be submitted to the Learn to Swim Coordinator before freezing payment.
5. If you cannot attend lessons for an extended period of time due to medical reasons, we are able to freeze remaining lessons, but cannot hold an allocated space.  Evidence must be submitted to the Learn to Swim Coordinator before freezing payment, and can be held for up to 12 months, after which all will be cleared.  A refund must be requested within the 12 month period, however a 2-credit deduction will apply.
6. Please be aware that absence for a one off illness such as an infectious virus, you will not be refunded the credits lost.
7. When your child is due to move up a stage but the available lesson times do not suit or is unavailable you have the option to remain in the current stage class until all credits expire and then join the waiting list for the next stage or we are able to freeze the remaining lessons, and then add your child to the waiting list for the next stage and reactive your credits as soon as a space becomes available.
8. Crash Courses are strictly non-refundable.

1. Loughborough University reserves the right to alter these conditions without notice, other than by posting the revisions on the Loughborough Sport website. The alterations or revision will apply from the date of first posting on the website.

2. In the event of a pool closure we will make every attempt to contact our customers as soon as possible.  All remaining lessons credits will be carried over to the following week.

3. In the event of poor weather conditions, either the Learn to Swim Coordinator, Facilities Manager or Duty Manager will make the decision whether to cancel lessons.

4. Parking is permitted in the swimming pool car park (closest to the building), which is free of charge (collect a parking ticket from reception to display in your car window).  The student’s Union car park, which is adjacent to the swimming pool car park, may be subject to a parking charge.  If the Swimming Pool car park is full, drive to the University barriers and Security will direct you to the closest area to park.

5. If you are unwell, or have tested positive for an infectious virus we recommend that you do not go to your swimming lesson.

6. If you have been ill within the last 48 hours with sickness and /or diarrhoea, you should not attend.

7. Any child above the age of 8 should use their respective changing room facilities, please speak to a member of staff if you have any questions or concerns.

8. Child protection, including bullying, follows our Loughborough University Safeguarding Policy.